What does computerize mean?
"Computerize" is a verb meaning to convert a system, process, or organization from manual or paper-based operation to one run by computers. The word emerged in the mid-twentieth century as businesses and institutions adopted electronic computing, and it quickly became the standard term for describing this transformation. To computerize something — whether a payroll system, a hospital's records, or a library's catalogue — is to replace handwritten ledgers and physical files with digital databases and automated workflows. The word carries a largely positive connotation of efficiency, accuracy, and modernization, though it can also evoke the impersonal quality sometimes associated with automated administration. Related forms include "computerized" (adjective), "computerizing" (present participle), and "computerization" (the noun naming the process itself). It is often used alongside terms such as "automate" and "digitize," but where digitizing refers specifically to converting information into digital form, computerizing describes the broader shift of an entire operation to computer control. Today the word remains common in discussions of institutional modernization, historical accounts of the information age, and reports on organizations upgrading legacy systems.
verbTo convert a system, process, or organization to operation by computers, typically replacing manual or paper-based methods. It can also mean to equip something with computer technology.
- To convert a manual or non-computer-based system, process, or organization to one operated by computers.
- To provide or equip with computers or computer technology.
"The hospital spent two years computerizing its patient records."
"By the early 1990s, most banks had fully computerized their account management."
"The small library finally computerized its card catalogue, making titles searchable in seconds."
The word "computerize" barely existed before the 1950s — then it swept through offices so fast that "computerize" became shorthand for an entire era of workplace transformation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of computerize
"Computerize" derives from "computer," a term rooted in the Latin verb "computare" ("to calculate"), formed from "com-" ("together") and "putare" ("to reckon"). Originally, "computer" referred to a person who performed calculations; by the mid-twentieth century it had come to mean an electronic calculating machine, and "computerize" was coined shortly thereafter to describe converting systems to operate on these machines. Cognates sharing the same Latin root include "computation," "compute," and "dispute."
Related word forms
How computerize is actually used
"Computerize" is a neutral-to-positive term common in business, administrative, and technical contexts. In British usage it is standard; American usage is identical. The related adjective "computerized" and noun "computerization" carry the same register. Because the word implies replacing human/manual methods, it can occasionally carry a faintly bureaucratic connotation in literary use.
Easily confused with computerize
"Digitize" means converting information (like paper documents) into digital format, whereas "computerize" means converting an entire system, process, or workplace to be run by computers.