laptop

[lap-top] /ˈlæpˌtɒp/

noun

a portable computer, usually battery-powered, small enough to rest on the user's lap and having a screen that closes over the keyboard like a lid.

Compare tablet (def 6).

Also called laptop computer.

Origin

1980-85; lap¹ + top¹

Examples from the web for laptop

They'd been taught to interact with the robot, which was tethered to a laptop.
But once delivered to a site, it is almost as self-contained as any laptop.
The ability to manage your system from your laptop at home is seductive, but is not a realistic piece of risk-taking.
It takes five minutes to hook up the recorder to laptop and upload the file to one's website.
If you don't want to lug the laptop along then here are two possible solutions.
If any hazardous stress occurs, data sent from the wireless sensors will sound an alarm from a nearby laptop computer.
The natural warmth melts into my bones and suddenly, the busy laptop of my mind switches off.
What works in one cell phone or laptop should work in another.
In size, it is startlingly similar to a laptop computer, though a bit thicker.
Broadband is everywhere and you might use a tablet or a laptop to surf the web.

British Dictionary definitions for laptop

/ˈlæpˌtɒp/

noun

a personal computer that is small and light enough to be operated on the user's lap Compare palmtop computer

Word Origin and History for laptop

also lap-top, as a type of portable computer, 1984, from lap (n.) + top (1), on model of desktop.

laptop in Culture

A portable, compact personal computer that can run on a battery.

laptop in Technology