What does "algorithm" mean?
A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.
Algorithm
/ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.
- Grammar: algorithm is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: algoid, algorism, algorithmic program, algorithmic rule.
- Useful contrasts: heuristic, heuristic rule, heuristics.
- Usage evidence: The algorithm pushed that video everywhere.
How to use "algorithm"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "algorithm" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "algorithm" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "algorithm" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "algorithm" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "algorithm" is acting as noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "algoid" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "algorithm", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A collection of ordered steps that solve a mathematical problem. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps. countable
"Informally, an algorithm is any well-defined computational procedure that takes some value, or set of values, as input and produces some value, or set of values, as output. An algorithm is thus a sequence of computational steps that transform the input into the output."
- 2 a precise rule (or set of rules) specifying how to solve some problem wordnet
- 3 A flowchart illustrating a decision-making process for human users, especially health care professionals. broadly, countable, uncountable
"This retrospective observational analysis evaluated BP [blood pressure] control in an entirely remote management program before and during the pandemic. A team of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physicians, and nonlicensed navigators used an evidence‐based clinical algorithm to optimize hypertensive treatment. The algorithm was adapted during the pandemic to simplify BP control."
- 4 Calculation with Arabic numerals; algorism. obsolete, uncountable
- 5 recommender systems and the curation of feeds; software that makes content display determinations on a platform, in totality of effect upon all end users (within a potential audience). countable, metonymically, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 recommender systems and the curation of feeds; the influenced zeitgeist: e.g. what content ends up trending or viral, what persons become a main character or cancelled broadly, countable, informal, metonymically, uncountable
"Glover began his acceptance speech by saying, “First, I want to thank the great algorithm that put us all here.”"
- 7 recommender systems and the curation of feeds; the actual personalized selections of content seen by specific user(s), the microtargeting to which they are subject countable, informal, metonymically, uncountable
"… you and I probably didn't run across that in our algorithm, but that doesn't mean that a lot of people aren't gonna run across garbage like that in their algorithms in the next couple weeks…"
Slang
- 1 Recommendation system shaping what users see. slang, social-media, 2010s-2020s
"The algorithm pushed that video everywhere."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The algorithm pushed that video everywhere."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "algorithm"?
Common synonyms include: algoid, algorism, algorithmic program, algorithmic rule, algorithmizations, applied mathematics.
How do you use "algorithm" in a sentence?
The algorithm pushed that video everywhere.
How do you pronounce "algorithm"?
Pronounced /ˈælɡəɹɪðm̩/.
Etymology
Etymology tree Arabic ال (al-) Old Persian 𐎢𐎺𐎠𐎼𐏀𐎷𐎡𐏁 (u-v-a-r-z-mi-i-š) Classical Persian خْوَارَزْم (xwārazm)bor. Arabic خَوَارِزْم (ḵawārizm) Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) Arabic خَوَارِزْمِيّ (ḵawārizmiyy) Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy)bor. Medieval Latin algorismusbor. Anglo-Norman algorismebor. Middle English algorisme English algorism ▲ English arithmo-influ. English algorithm From Middle English algorisme, augrym, from Anglo-Norman algorisme, augrim, from Medieval Latin algorismus, from Arabic الخَوَارِزْمِيّ (al-ḵawārizmiyy), the nisba of Persian mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī and a toponymic name meaning "person from Chorasmia". The spelling change (-s- > -th-) was influenced by unrelated Ancient Greek ἀριθμός (arithmós) (whence English arithmo-).