Data

The word “Data” means facts, figures, or other information, especially when collected for analysis or used by a computer. In plain terms, information, especially numbers or facts, that can be recorded, measured, or processed.

Here is “Data” used in a sentence: “The scientists spent months collecting data before drawing any conclusions.”

“Data” is a noun.

The word “Data” comes from Latin. Borrowed from Latin "data," the plural of "datum," meaning "(a thing) given." It entered English as a scientific and statistical term before becoming everyday vocabulary in the computer age.

“Data” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

Data is raw — individual facts, figures, or measurements with no context on their own, like a list of numbers. Information is data that has been processed, organized, and given meaning, so it can be understood and used. In short, information is what you get when data is interpreted.

Strictly, 'data' is the plural of the Latin 'datum,' so traditionalists write 'the data are clear.' In everyday and modern usage, however, 'data' is usually treated as an uncountable singular: 'the data is clear.' Both are accepted today, and the singular is now standard in general and business writing.

Data is often split into quantitative data, which is numerical and measurable, and qualitative data, which describes qualities in words. It can also be classed as structured, neatly organized in tables and databases, or unstructured, like text, images, and video. Which type you have shapes how it is analyzed.

A person's height, a shop's daily sales figures, the temperature each hour, or a list of website clicks are all data. On a computer, the contents of a file — text, numbers, images, or sound stored as digits — are data waiting to be read, processed, or analyzed.