database

or da·ta-base, da·ta base

[ dey-tuh-beys ]

noun

1. a comprehensive collection of related data datum organized for convenient access, generally in a computer.
2. data bank.

database

/ ˈdeɪtəˌbeɪs /

noun

1. a systematized collection of data that can be accessed immediately and manipulated by a data-processing system for a specific purpose
2. informal.
   any large store of information

   a database of knowledge

database

/ dā′tə-bās′,dăt′ə- /

1. A collection of data arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval by a computer.

database

1. A set of data grouped together in one location in (or accessible by) a computer . A computerized database has been likened to an electronic filing cabinet of information arranged for easy access or for a specific purpose.

Word History and Origins

Origin of database¹

First recorded in 1965–70; data + base ¹

Example Sentences

Independent expenditure committees poured more than $7.6 million into the race, making it the most expensive election for state Legislature this year, according to California Target Book, a political database.

From Los Angeles Times

Key will be the NHS England database on patient safety incidents, which services across the country report into.

From BBC

They then combined this novel database with information on the courses of 176,000 cargo vessels from 2017 to 2022 -- tracked by each ship's automatic identification system and processed using an algorithm from Global Fishing Watch -- to identify where whales and ships are most likely to meet.

From Science Daily

Asia has the highest prevalence of methanol poisoning worldwide, according to MSF’s database.

From BBC

When the Riverside County district attorney’s office put the DNA from Gonzalez’s cold case into a database, they found a woman who was a potential relative of the unidentified killer.

From Los Angeles Times