fortran
noun
Simple meaning
A high-level programing language for mathematical and scientific purposes.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fawrtranSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfɔɹtɹæn
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
computer languages
A high-level programing language for mathematical and scientific purposes; stands for formula translation
computer languages
A high-level programming language first developed in the 1950s for scientific, engineering, and numerical computation.
Alternative letter-case form of Fortran, particularly its early forms.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A high-level programing language for mathematical and scientific purposes; stands for formula translation
Used this way, fortran is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A compiler for programs written in FORTRAN.
A program written in FORTRAN.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- assemblernoun
- cobolnoun
- compilernoun
- subroutinenoun
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