data processing

American  

[dey-tuh pros-es-ing, dat-uh, dah-tuh] / ˈdeɪ tə ˌprɒs ɛs ɪŋ, ˈdæt ə, ˈdɑ tə /

noun

1. processing of information, especially the handling of information by computers in accordance with strictly defined procedures and operations, as aggregation, sorting, analysis, or validation. DP

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data processing British  

noun

1. 1. a sequence of operations performed on data, esp by a computer, in order to extract information, reorder files, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a data-processing centre

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data processing Cultural  

1. Either the preparation of data for processing by a computer, or the storage and processing of raw data by the computer itself.

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Other Word Forms

• data processor noun

Etymology

Origin of data processing

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

AI data processing is incredibly energy-intensive, taking up huge amounts of power - and even water.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

The negative catalyst was a blog post from Anthropic, which highlighted a new Claude Code feature that automates the modernization of common business-oriented language, a programming language used for data processing.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

The first is the move from CPUs to GPUs for tasks like data processing.

From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025

It said the U.S. “stood out,” with imports of semiconductors alone surging by 36%, while purchases of servers and automatic data processing machines grew by 10%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

With a little luck and some hard work, he predicted, Sasha might be able to hold down a low-level job doing data processing.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater