machine language

American  

noun

Computers.

1. a coding system built into the hardware of a computer, requiring no translation before being run.

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machine language Scientific  

1. The set of instructions, encoded as strings of binary bits, interpreted directly by a computer's central processing unit. Each different type of central processing unit has its own machine language. For a given machine language, each unique combination of 1's and 0's in an instruction has a unique interpretation, including such operations as arithmetical operations, incrementing a counter, saving data to memory, testing if data has a certain value, and so on. Computer programs are rarely written directly in machine language; instead, higher-level programming languages are used.

2. See more at programming language

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Example Sentences

But many such systems have their own controls and machine languages, which can make it difficult for them to “talk” to one another.

From Scientific American

That’s their fundamental machine language as to manipulate bits of information.

From The Verge

Compilers are software programs that translate an algorithm written in a high-level language into machine language instructions that can be executed step by step on particular hardware.

From Nature

For much of my grandfather’s career, assembly and machine language was the only way to program a computer.

From Salon

It’s not a desk, it’s a machine language angel whispering in your inner ear: "Save your spine for another romp in the park, a game of tennis, croquet even!"

From Newsweek