COBOL

American

[koh-bawl] / ˈkoʊ bɔl /

noun

Computers.

a programming language particularly suited for writing programs to process large files of data, using a vocabulary of common English words, phrases, and sentences.

COBOL British

/ ˈkəʊˌbɒl /

noun

a high-level computer programming language designed for general commercial use

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

COBOL Scientific

/ kō′bôl′ /

A programming language developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s and used especially for business applications. It is closer to English than many other high-level languages, making it easier to learn.

Etymology

Origin of COBOL

1955–60; co(mmon) b(usiness) - o(riented) l(anguage)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The selloff began after Anthropic announced that its Claude Code tool could automate the modernization of COBOL, a decades-old programming language that underpins most ATM transactions and in-person credit card swipes.

From Barron's

The company wrote a blog post detailing how its Claude Code tool can modernize COBOL—computer programming language used on IBM mainframes.

From Barron's

The agency still uses technology dating back more than a half-century, including devices running a programming language, COBOL, that few coders still know.

From New York Times

The system runs on COBOL, an antiquated programming language few coders still know.

From Washington Post

Some of its main computers still run on programming language that dates to the 1960s, called COBOL, the IRS has repeatedly told policymakers.

From Washington Post

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023