Definition of "data"

data

/ˈdeɪ.tə/

noun
1. plural of datum
  Quotations
  First from these Data, let us obtain the Breadth of the Glass e z
  1692, William Molyneux, Edmund Halley, Dioptrica nova‎, London: Benj. Tooke, page 100
2. (collectively, uncountable) Information, especially in a scientific or computational context, or with the implication that it is organized.
  Quotations
  With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]
  1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, page vii
  Risk is everywhere. […] For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles” […] aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.
  2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76
3. (collectively) Recorded observations that are usually presented in a structured format.
4. (computing) A representation of facts or ideas in a formalized manner capable of being communicated or manipulated by some process.
5. (mobile telephony) Ellipsis of mobile data: digital information transmitted using the cellular telephone network rather than Wi-Fi.

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