data

[ dey-tuh, dat-uh ]

noun

1. (usually used with a singular verb) Digital Technology. information in digital format, as encoded text or numbers, or multimedia images, audio, or video:

   The data was corrupted and can’t be retrieved.

   Data is entered for immediate processing by the computer.

2. (used with a singular verb) a body of facts; information:

   Additional data is available from the president of the firm.

3. (used with a plural verb) individual facts, statistics, or items of information:

   These data represent the results of our analyses.

4. a plural of datum.

data

/ ˈdeɪtə; ˈdɑːtə /

plural noun

1. a series of observations, measurements, or facts; information
2. Also calledinformation computing the information operated on by a computer program

Usage Note

Data is a plural of datum, which is originally a Latin noun meaning “something given.” Today, data is used in English both as a plural noun meaning “facts or pieces of information” ( These data are described more fully elsewhere ) and as a singular mass noun meaning “information” ( Not much data is available on flood control in Brazil ). It is usually treated as a plural in scientific and academic writing. In the digital or computer sense it is almost always treated as a mass noun and used with a singular verb. In other types of writing it is either singular or plural. The Latinate singular datum meaning “a piece of information” is now rare in all types of writing. In surveying and civil engineering, where datum has specialized senses, the plural form is datums.

Usage

Although now often used as a singular noun, data is properly a plural

Other Words From

• pre·da·ta noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of data¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin, plural of datum ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of data¹

C17: from Latin, literally: (things) given, from dare to give

Example Sentences

But since this is such a massive amount of data, to really do anything too fancy would take months and an eye-watering amount of computer processing to achieve.

From Los Angeles Times

The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has also previously fined Meta more than €1bn over mishandling people's data when transferring it between Europe and the United States.

From BBC

“Our data have shown us over time, it’s really still about the economy, and earnings growth is a much bigger driver than merely election outcomes or who’s in control,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director for U.S.

From Salon

From 2022 to 2024, Tesla and its subsidiaries were awarded at least $631,800 in federal contracts mainly to provide vehicles for the U.S. embassies in Singapore, Iceland and Thailand, the data showed.

From Los Angeles Times

That movie, “Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child,” landed in the top 10 films on Netflix in 20 countries for one to two weeks in 2023, according to the streamer’s data.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dossier
• evidence
• goods
• info
• input
• knowledge
• picture
• statistics
• testimony