noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A large, powerful computer able to manage very many simultaneous tasks and communicate with very many connected terminals; used by large, complex organizations (such as banks and supermarkets) where continuously sustained operation is vital.
2. 2
   (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing wordnet
3. 3
   A computer chassis that hosts and interconnects modules that perform various tasks.
4. 4
   a large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room wordnet
5. 5
   The main frame of a vehicle etc., more commonly main frame.

Synonyms

All synonyms

c.p.u.central processing unitcentral processing unitcentral processorcpumainframe computer

Example

More examples

"The scientists used an IBM mainframe computer to make their calculations."

Etymology

From main + frame.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.