programmable

American  

[proh-gram-uh-buhl, proh-gram-] / ˈproʊ græm ə bəl, proʊˈgræm- /

Or programable

adjective

1. capable of being programmed.

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noun

1. an electronic device, as a calculator or telephone, that can be programmed to perform specific tasks.

programmable British  

/ prəʊˈɡræməbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of a device or operation) capable of being programmed for automatic operation or computer processing

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Other Word Forms

• nonprogrammable adjective
• programmability noun
• reprogrammable adjective
• unprogrammable adjective

Etymology

Origin of programmable

First recorded in 1955–60; program + -able

Example Sentences

Tokenized cash represents currency or bank deposits as digital tokens on a distributed ledger or blockchain, promising instant, programmable settlements.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

“This guy just did something that looks like the first version of programmable medicine that people have been talking about but hasn’t really happened yet,” Jackson said in a video posted on LinkedIn.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

Light programmable colloidal crystals may eventually enable reconfigurable optical coatings, adaptive sensors, and next generation display and data storage technologies, where patterns and functions are defined dynamically by illumination rather than fixed during manufacturing.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

More than three quarters of this new capacity would come from wind power and "programmable technologies such as Battery Energy Storage Systems", Enel said.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Babbage designed schematics for a programmable computer, something that could process mathematical equations in place of the human mind.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel