digital

The word “digital” means using or storing information as discrete numerical values rather than a continuous signal, as computers do. In plain terms, anything based on computer data (as opposed to analog or physical), or generally to do with computers and the internet.

“Digital” is pronounced DIHD-zhihtl (/ˈdɪd͡ʒɪtl̩/ in IPA).

Here is “digital” used in a sentence: “She switched from a film camera to a digital one.”

The opposite of “digital” — its antonyms — are nondigital, undigital, analog, analogue and continuous.

“Digital” is an adjective.

The word “digital” comes from Latin. From Latin digitalis, "of the finger," from digitus — the modern computing sense comes from digits (0s and 1s) being the basic units of digital data.

“Digital” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Digital” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: using or storing information as discrete numerical values rather than a continuous signal, as computers do.

Digital stores information as discrete numerical values, usually the ones and zeros a computer uses. Analog represents information as a continuous, smoothly varying signal, like the groove on a vinyl record or the hands of a clock. Digital data can be copied exactly; analog signals gradually lose quality.

Computers, smartphones, and tablets are digital, along with digital cameras, streaming music and video, e-books, and online banking. Anything that captures, stores, or sends information as numbers rather than a continuous physical signal counts as digital, which today includes most of the devices and services people use daily.

Mostly, but not always. The word comes from 'digit,' meaning a finger or a numeral, so it originally related to counting on fingers. Today it usually means computer-based or electronic, as in digital media. It can still describe anything expressed in numbers rather than a continuous measurement.

Going digital means switching from physical or analog methods to electronic, computer-based ones. A business that goes digital might replace paper records with databases, or sell online instead of only in shops. The phrase captures the broad shift from tangible formats to information stored and shared as data.