What does input mean?
Input means information, data, instructions, or other material that is supplied to a computer, system, organization, or process. As a noun, it can refer to the material itself, a person's contribution, or the act of supplying it; as a verb, it means to enter, submit, provide, or feed material into a system. The word is especially common in computing, where it contrasts with output, the response or product produced by a process. Outside technical settings, input can suggest a contribution that influences a decision, discussion, or creative work. It is also frequently used in business and administrative language to describe the provision of information. Input is therefore useful both as a precise description of data entering a system and as a broader term for any information offered for consideration. Although more technical terms may be preferable in some formal contexts, input remains natural and widely understood across British and American English.
Information, data, instructions, or other material supplied to a computer, system, or process; also an act or instance of supplying such material.
"The software validates each input before adding it to the database."
The word is countable when referring to separate pieces of information or contributions and can also be used as an uncountable noun for data collectively.
To enter, submit, supply, or feed data or instructions into a computer, system, or process.
"Staff can input the figures directly into the reporting form."
This verb is standard in computing and business contexts; enter or submit may be preferred when greater formality is required.
The regular plural is used for separate pieces of information, instructions, or contributions.
"The reviewers provided several useful inputs before the deadline."
The shortest computing lesson is hidden in one word: input goes in, output comes out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does input come from?
The English word input was formed during the early modern period from the prefix in-, meaning “into,” and put, meaning to place something. Its form was also influenced by the Latin noun inputus, meaning “a putting in.” The modern computing sense developed from the older general meanings of entering material and providing information, while related forms such as impose and imprint share the same underlying tradition of putting or placing.
Related word forms
How input is actually used
In general use, input often denotes information or a contribution supplied by someone. In technical and administrative contexts it is commonly used for both countable items and uncountable data; in some settings, words such as enter, submit, or provide may sound more natural.
Easily confused with input
To input information is to supply it to a system or process, whereas to impute something is to attribute it to a particular person or cause.
Input is material received or entered into a system, while output is the product, response, or result produced by it.