information

[in-fer-mey-shuh n] /ˌɪn fərˈmeɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news:
information concerning a crime.
2.
knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc.; factual data:
His wealth of general information is amazing.
3.
the act or fact of informing.
4.
an office, station, service, or employee whose function is to provide information to the public:
The ticket seller said to ask information for a timetable.
5.
Directory Assistance.
6.
Law.
  1. an official criminal charge presented, usually by the prosecuting officers of the state, without the interposition of a grand jury.
  2. a criminal charge, made by a public official under oath before a magistrate, of an offense punishable summarily.
  3. the document containing the depositions of witnesses against one accused of a crime.
7.
(in information theory) an indication of the number of possible choices of messages, expressible as the value of some monotonic function of the number of choices, usually the logarithm to the base 2.
8.
Computers.
  1. important or useful facts obtained as output from a computer by means of processing input data with a program:
    Using the input data, we have come up with some significant new information.
  2. data at any stage of processing (input, output, storage, transmission, etc.).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English: instruction, teaching, a forming of the mind < Medieval Latin, Latin: idea, conception. See inform1, -ation
Related forms
informational, adjective
noninformational, adjective
Synonyms
1. data, facts, intelligence, advice. 2. Information, knowledge, wisdom are terms for human acquirements through reading, study, and practical experience. Information applies to facts told, read, or communicated that may be unorganized and even unrelated: to pick up useful information. Knowledge is an organized body of information, or the comprehension and understanding consequent on having acquired and organized a body of facts: a knowledge of chemistry. Wisdom is a knowledge of people, life, and conduct, with the facts so thoroughly assimilated as to have produced sagacity, judgment, and insight: to use wisdom in handling people.
Examples from the web for information
  • For this story, fortunately, information is available from a number of continental sources.
  • The next day he gave information to the magistrates, and advised them to order that spot to be dug up.
  • The dreamer also places at our disposal further information for other parts of the manifest dream content.
  • Nowhere is so much information crowded into the same number of words as in a memorable speech.
  • The blood may be yours-but the information it contains is not.
  • And because he's ostensibly on the right side of the law, he's uncommonly open with information.
  • But a lot of the information that helps us understand and respond to the world doesn't come from these senses.
  • All requested information must be submitted online for your application to be considered.
  • But when it came to finding a new job with her master's degree in library and information studies, her strategy backfired.
  • It really helps to have the basic information spelled out in the same format for each applicant.
British Dictionary definitions for information

information

/ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃən/
noun
1.
knowledge acquired through experience or study
2.
knowledge of specific and timely events or situations; news
3.
the act of informing or the condition of being informed
4.
  1. an office, agency, etc, providing information
  2. (as modifier): information service
5.
  1. a charge or complaint made before justices of the peace, usually on oath, to institute summary criminal proceedings
  2. a complaint filed on behalf of the Crown, usually by the attorney general
6.
(computing)
  1. the meaning given to data by the way in which it is interpreted
  2. another word for data (sense 2)
7.
(informal) too much information, I don't want to hear any more
Derived Forms
informational, adjective
Word Origin and History for information
n.

late 14c., "act of informing," from Old French informacion, enformacion "information, advice, instruction," from Latin informationem (nominative informatio) "outline, concept, idea," noun of action from past participle stem of informare (see inform). Meaning "knowledge communicated" is from mid-15c. Information technology attested from 1958. Information revolution from 1969.

information in Technology

data
The result of applying data processing to data, giving it context and meaning. Information can then be further processed to yeild knowledge.
People or computers can find patterns in data to perceive information, and information can be used to enhance knowledge. Since knowledge is prerequisite to wisdom, we always want more data and information. But, as modern societies verge on information overload, we especially need better ways to find patterns.
1234567.89 is data.
"Your bank balance has jumped 8087% to $1234567.89" is information.
"Nobody owes me that much money" is knowledge.
"I'd better talk to the bank before I spend it, because of what has happened to other people" is wisdom.
(2007-09-10)

Idioms and Phrases with information

information

see under gold mine