software

(1) A computer program, any informational content included in the program, and any supporting information provided in connection with a transaction relating to the computer program or informational content.

(2) A category of personal property collateral defined by the 2001 revisions to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code. American Banker Glossary

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software soft‧ware [ˈsɒftweə ǁ ˈsɒːftwer] noun [uncountable] COMPUTING

the sets of programs that you put into a computer when you want it to do particular jobs:

• Loading the software (= putting it on the computer ) should be quick and simple.

• the giant software company, Microsoft

appliˈcation ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that is designed for a particular use or user:

• We need to ensure that the application software on both the PC and the Macintosh produces compatible files.

• There is a range of other software application programs on the market.

ˈdatabase ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows you to keep a large amount of information and to search easily for the information you want

ˌdesktop ˈpublishing ˌsoftware abbreviation DTP software COMPUTING

software that allows ordinary users to produce newspapers, magazines etc

ˈgraphic ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows a computer to show images, such as video images, on its screen:

• a powerful graphic software for digital photo editing and images processing

inˈvestment ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that gives you information about possible investments and lets you see the results of making particular investments

ˈknowledge-based ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that learns while it works and is able to use this knowledge to find more effective ways of doing a particular job

ˈmultimedia ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows you to using a mixture of sound, pictures, film, and writing

ˈpackaged ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that has been developed to sell to many different types of customer, rather than being specially developed for one particular customer :

• Packaged software, although ready-made, typically requires a lot of configuration work to set it up for the specific needs of each individual business.

ˈpresentation ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that is used to prepare material for a presentation (= event at which a new product, idea, plan etc is described and explained )

reˈality ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows you to show Three-Dimensional (= seeming to have length, depth, and height) images on a cinema screen that give you the experience of seeing or being inside a real place or physical object. It is used especially by designers and engineers to produce models of new products such as cars

ˌspeech recogˈnition ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows you to operate a computer by speaking to it

ˈspreadsheet ˌsoftware COMPUTING

a computer program that shows rows of figures and performs calculations with them. Spreadsheet software is often used to work out sales, taxes, profits, and other financial information

ˌthird-ˈparty ˌsoftware

COMPUTING computer programs that add to what existing software can do, and are developed by a different company from the one that develops the existing software:

• Make sure you get third-party software updates which are mostly free.

ˌword-ˈprocessing ˌsoftware COMPUTING

software that allows you to write documents, move parts of the document around, checks your spelling etc — see also firmware, freeware, groupware, nagware, shareware

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software UK US /ˈsɒftweə^r/ noun [U] IT

► the programs that you put into a computer to make it do particular jobs: »

The help desk helps customers install and run software.

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install/load software

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Thousands of users are able to download software provided by the company.

develop/design software »

The company has invested $3m to develop software.

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They have written software for an international trade database.

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The firm masterminds the computer software and hardware for the lottery.

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The companies offer software applications through the internet.

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software developer/consultant/company

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financial/educational/accounting software

→ See also APPLICATION SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑application software), GRAPHIC SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑graphic software), INVESTMENT SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑investment software), KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑knowledge-based software), PACKAGED SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑packaged software), PRESENTATION SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑presentation software), SPEECH RECOGNITION SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑speech recognition software), THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE(Cf. ↑third-party software)

→ Compare HARDWARE(Cf. ↑hardware)