language note: datum is sometimes used as the singular form of data.
1. uncountable noun & plural noun
You can refer to information as data, especially when it is in the form of facts or statistics that you can analyse. In American English, data is usually a plural noun. In technical or formal British English, data is sometimes a plural noun, but at other times, it is an uncount noun.
The study was based on data from 2,100 women.
...the latest year for which data is available.
To cope with these data, hospitals bought large mainframe computers.
Synonyms: details, facts, figures, materials More Synonyms of data
2. uncountable noun
Data is information that can be stored and used by a computer program.
[computing]
No important data is stored on the devices.
More Synonyms of data
data in British English
(ˈdeɪtə, ˈdɑːtə)
noun(functioning as singular or plural)
1.
a series of observations, measurements, or facts; information
2. Also called: information computing
the information operated on by a computer program
▶ USAGE Although data is now usually treated as a singular noun, it was originally a plural and is stilltreated as such in much scientific and technical writing
Word origin
C17: from Latin, literally: (things) given, from dare to give
data in American English
(ˈdeɪtə; ˈdætə; British; also ˈdɑtə)
plural noun
1.
facts or figures to be processed; evidence, records, statistics, etc. from which conclusions can be inferred; information
2.
information in a form suitable for storing and processing by a computer
Word origin
pl. of datum: still often so used by scientists
data in Electrical Engineering
(deɪtə)
noun
(Electrical engineering: Circuits, Computing and control)
Data is information presented in numbers, letters, or other form.
System level soft errors typically occur as the data is traveling to and from the RAM on the data bus but not within the RAM chips themselves.
Serial communication is the sending of data one bit at a time.
Data is information presented in numbers, letters, or other form.
data acquisition system, data processing equipment
UsageIn general English, the noun data is usually followed by a singular verb, but in technical English, it is often followedby a plural verb and the singular form of the noun is datum.
Examples of 'data' in a sentence
data
The data shows that high street visits dropped for the third month.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The announcement sparked investigations by data protection groups in Europe.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This data shows we're betraying them.
The Sun (2017)
A rising number of elderly patients are being hospitalised after going hungry, the data suggests.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It may also be a breach of confidentiality obligations owed by the business, or a breach of statutory duties such as data protection obligations.
Computing (2010)
The data suggests (again only suggests) that this intuition is incorrect.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
All you can say is good luck to them, because as any data provider knows, banks are past masters when it comes to gaming the system.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Many now opt to rent capacity from AWS to store and crunch their information, as it is cheaper than building their own data centres.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
For which periods and places and aspects of the past is data readily available?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We also invest to ensure the physical security of our data centres.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This data suggests they really ought to pay attention.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The data shows that drivers are five times more likely than a cyclist to kill a pedestrian.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The agency fears a legal challenge under data protection laws if it does not remove the information.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We deny breaching any data protection laws.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But the data available allows the company to go further.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The internet boom has led to huge growth in demand for the services of data centres.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The data suggests that this would be a considerable task.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The enlarged group now makes equipment including electrical systems for data centres and printing presses.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The data suggests that flippers have begun to adjust their expectations downwards.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But the data also shows that some areas have benefited more than others.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Such practices are a breach of data protection law when carried out for commercial reasons.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The energy efficiency of data centres has improved but a great deal more could be done.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The data seems to suggest that this is indeed the case.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
All the data shows that they are buying fewer houses and spending less in the shops.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The data is not considered personal information under data protection laws because the identity of patients is disguised.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Two Cumbria police workers were arrested for data protection breaches and misconduct in a public office.
The Sun (2013)
It is understood that MPs have demanded that data protection laws are considered.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
A financial data provider has dropped out of the race to buy LCH.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
data
British English: data /ˈdeɪtə; ˈdɑːtə/ NOUN
You can talk about information as data, especially when it is in the form of facts or numbers.
The study was based on data from 2,100 women.
American English: data
Arabic: بَيَانَات
Brazilian Portuguese: dados
Chinese: 数据
Croatian: podaci
Czech: data
Danish: data
Dutch: gegevens
European Spanish: datos
Finnish: tiedot
French: données
German: Daten
Greek: δεδομένα
Italian: dati
Japanese: データ
Korean: 데이터
Norwegian: data
Polish: dane
European Portuguese: dados
Romanian: date
Russian: данные
Latin American Spanish: datos
Swedish: data
Thai: สถิติ
Turkish: veri
Ukrainian: дані
Vietnamese: số liệu
All related terms of 'data'
datum
a single piece of information; fact
big data
Big data is extremely large amounts of information that can only be used with special computers .
data bank
A data bank is the same as a → database .
data cap
a limit imposed on the amount of data that can be transferred to an electronic device
data file
a file containing data that is used by a computer program
data link
a telecommunications link between two locations enabling the transmission and receiving of data
data pen
a device for reading or scanning magnetically coded data on labels , packets , etc
data set
a folder , box , etc, used to keep documents or other items in order
dead data
data that is no longer relevant
live data
data that is still relevant
test data
data that is used in the testing of a computer program
census data
the data generated by an official census
data entry
Data entry is the activity of putting data into a computer, for example , by using a keyboard .
data mining
Data mining involves collecting information from data stored in a database, for example in order to find out about people's shopping habits.
input data
a computer file that inputs data to a program or device
market data
Market data is information gathered about the demand for goods, such as the number of units sold , and the value of goods sold.
customer data
Customer data is information held on file about customers by a store or other business, usually including names, contact details , and buying habits .
data capture
any process for converting information into a form that can be handled by a computer
data carrier
any medium , such as magnetic tape , on which data can be recorded
data science
Data science is the scientific analysis of large amounts of information held on computers, done for example in order to learn about people's shopping or voting behaviour .
data security
the protection of data stored on computers
data collection
the process of gathering information or data
data dictionary
an index of data held in a database and used to assist in the access to data
data directory
an index of data held in a database and used to assist in the access to data
data processing
Data processing is the series of operations that are carried out on data, especially by computers, in order to present , interpret , or obtain information.
data processor
a computer that is capable of performing operations on data in order to extract information , reorder files , etc
data protection
(in Britain ) safeguards for individuals relating to personal data stored on a computer
data structure
an organized form, such as an array list or string , in which connected data items are held in a computer
data preparation
the process of converting data or information into a form that can be read by a computer, so that the data can then be entered into the computer
data transmission
the act of sending data electronically over a communications network
data warehousing
the use of large amounts of data taken from multiple sources to create reports and for data analysis
mobile data system
a system consisting of a client computer requesting information and a server supplying this information
database
A database is a collection of data that is stored in a computer and that can easily be used and added to.
sense datum
a sensation detached both from any information it may convey and from its putative source in the external world, such as the bare awareness of a red visual field. Sense data are held by some philosophers to be the immediate objects of experience providing certain knowledge from which knowledge of material objects is inferred
sensum
a sensation detached both from any information it may convey and from its putative source in the external world, such as the bare awareness of a red visual field. Sense data are held by some philosophers to be the immediate objects of experience providing certain knowledge from which knowledge of material objects is inferred
Data Protection Act
→ the Data Protection Act
flight data recorder
a recording device that records relevant data during an aircraft's flight
Newlyn datum
mean sea level calculated from observation taken at Newlyn, Cornwall , and used as the official basis for height calculation on British maps
data acquisition system
A data acquisition system is a system that acquires data, generally by digitizing analog channels and storing the data in digital form.
preclinical safety data
Preclinical safety data is information about the safety of a medication that is assessed before clinical trials.
ordnance datum
mean sea level calculated from observation taken at Newlyn, Cornwall , and used as the official basis for height calculation on British maps
data processing equipment
Data processing equipment is electrically operated equipment that accumulates , processes, and stores data.
electronic data processing
the processing of data by an electronic device such as a computer
on-line data processing
the storing or processing of data on a computer using the internet
the Data Protection Act
a United Kingdom act of parliament designed to ensure the proper handling of information stored about individuals on computers and entitling individuals to find out what information is stored about them
EDI
electronic data interchange : an interactive electronic system that enables a supplier and a customer to communicate easily
EDP
electronic data processing
Chinese translation of 'data'
data
(ˈdeɪtə)
n pl
数(數)据(據) (shùjù)
1 (noun)
Definition
a series of observations, measurements, or facts
The survey was based on data from 2,100 patients.
Synonyms
details
facts
figures
materials
documents
intelligence
a senior officer involved in gathering intelligence
statistics
gen (British, informal)
dope (informal)
They had plenty of dope on him.
info (informal)
2 (noun)
Definition
the numbers, digits, characters, and symbols operated on by a computer
Synonyms
information
They refused to give us any information about her.
input
a variety of types of input in the classroom
Usage note
From a historical point of view only, the word data is a plural. In fact, in many cases it is not clear from context if it is being used as a singular or plural, so there is no issue: when next needed the data can be accessed very quickly. When it is necessary to specify, the preferred usage nowadays in general language is to treat it as singular, as in: this data is useful to the government in the planning of housing services. There are rather more examples in the Bank of English of these data than this data, with a marked preference for the plural in academic and scientific writing. As regards data is versus data are, the preference for the plural form overall is even more marked in that kind of writing. When speaking, however, it is best to opt for treating the word as singular, except in precise scientific contexts. The singular form datum is comparatively rare in the sense of a single item of data.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dope
Definition
confidential information
They had plenty of dope on him.
Synonyms
information,
facts,
details,
material,
news,
intelligence,
gen (British, informal),
info (informal),
inside information,
lowdown (informal)
in the sense of input
Definition
the data fed into a computer
a variety of types of input in the classroom
Synonyms
information,
facts,
material,
figures,
details,
data,
documents,
statistics,
info (informal)
in the sense of intelligence
Definition
news or information
a senior officer involved in gathering intelligence