personal computer

noun

a compact computer that uses a microprocessor and is designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games.

Abbreviation: PC.

Origin

1975-80

Examples from the web for personal computer

Fallows was one of the first writers to incorporate a personal computer into his life.
But increasingly this is the researcher's own personal computer, and it goes along wherever he or she goes.
Experience with personal computer, who happens to sometime crash when you're surfing the net, is totally irrelevant.
They will send you all the parts needed to construct a high-end personal computer.
Traditionally, playing these games meant owning either a game console or a high-end personal computer.
The value of the personal computer was no great mystery.
Overcoming a cloud's high walls is difficult, hacking a weak, personal computer to become an insider is far easier.
Apple has a clear vision of what a personal computer should be and expresses it in a few highly refined variations.
Actually, it describes the way an eclectic group of individuals has capitalized on the popularity of the personal computer.
And in the age of the personal computer, the button was king.

British Dictionary definitions for personal computer

personal computer

noun

a small inexpensive computer used in word processing, playing computer games, etc

personal computer in Science

personal computer

(pûr'sə-nəl)
A computer built around a microprocessor for use by an individual. Personal computers have their own operating systems, software, and peripherals, and can generally be linked to networks. Compare mainframe.

personal computer in Culture

personal computer (PC)

A computer typically used in the home, office, or school. Also a generic term for a PC Microsoft® operating system.

personal computer in Technology

computer
(PC) A general-purpose single-user microcomputer designed to be operated by one person at a time.
This term and the concept has been successfully hijacked by IBM due to the huge market share of the IBM PC, despite its many obvious weaknesses when compared to other equally valid claimants to the term, e.g. the Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari, Macintosh.
(1994-11-02)