programmer
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of programmer
Explanation
Someone who writes software or programs for computers is called a programmer. If you develop an application for mobile devices, you can also call yourself a programmer. Programmers use a variety of computer languages to write the code (or instructions) that helps computers do the things their users want them to do. There are programmers who specialize in specific languages which are useful in various industries — some are used by financial institutions and others by scientists, for example. Evidence of the dramatic way things change over time is clear from the shift in this word's meaning: in 1890, a programmer was an "event planner."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Among the examples cited by the task force was the case of French programmer Sammy Azdoufal, who reportedly accessed data from thousands of robotic vacuum cleaners made by Chinese manufacturer DJI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
In 2012, a French programmer called Stéphane Gigandet launched a free, online and crowdsourced food product database called Open Food Facts during the Food Revolution Day organised by English chef Jamie Oliver.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Naveed Hasan is a computer programmer, a parent and a member of Panel for Education Policy, an oversight board for New Yorks' public school system.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
I’m not a programmer but I created an application by asking the right questions and letting a chatbot code.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
The anonymous seller claimed to be a former IOI contract programmer and one of the lead architects of its company intranet.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Carville’s reputation for colorful turns of phrase, and his tendency to stomp on any calls for the party to move left, made him a favorite of cable news programmers looking to make entertaining television.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
It happens because AIs learn to maximize a reward—usually some form of numeric score, not the underlying behavior programmers intend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
For computer programmers — on the other end of the spectrum — the increase is over 25%.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The analyst is betting on Quantum Computing’s Qatalyst software, which enables programmers to solve computational problems without knowing low-level quantum coding.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
TRW desperately needed programmers familiar with the particular software the power station used.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
