HARDWARE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hardware mean? 

• HARDWARE (noun)
  The noun HARDWARE has 3 senses:

1. major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)
2. instrumentalities (tools or implements) made of metal
3. (computer science) the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer system

  Familiarity information: HARDWARE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HARDWARE (noun)

Meaning:

Major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("hardware" is a kind of...):

arms; implements of war; munition; weaponry; weapons system (weapons considered collectively)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Meaning:

Instrumentalities (tools or implements) made of metal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

ironware; hardware

Hypernyms ("hardware" is a kind of...):

instrumentality; instrumentation (an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end)

Meaning:

(computer science) the mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer system

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

computer hardware; hardware

Hypernyms ("hardware" is a kind of...):

component; constituent; element (an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up; especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "hardware"):

C.P.U.; central processing unit; central processor; CPU; mainframe; processor ((computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing)

computer memory; computer storage; memory; memory board; storage; store (an electronic memory device)

scheduler (computer hardware that arranges jobs to be done by the computer in an appropriate order)

sequencer (computer hardware that sorts data or programs into a predetermined sequence)

upgrade (hardware that provides better performance than an earlier version did)

Holonyms ("hardware" is a part of...):

computer; computing device; computing machine; data processor; electronic computer; information processing system (a machine for performing calculations automatically)

Antonym:

software ((computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory)