Inputs

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. Information, materials, or contributions fed into a computer, machine, or process ; to enter or feed data or material into a system
2. The data, resources, or contributions that are supplied to a system or process ; the act of entering or feeding something into a computer or machine
3. Things fed into a machine, program, or project to make it work ; to supply or enter such material into a system

Etymology: "Inputs" is simply the plural of "input," a noun that has been used for things put into a system, and the word it belongs to came into English as a verb. Its root is the preposition "in" joined to the verb "put," so the verb originally meant to put something into a place or thing. The noun grew out of that verb and was later used for whatever is fed into a machine, process, or calculation, which is how the plural "inputs" is commonly encountered today.

Synonyms: data, information, contribution, enter, key in

Antonyms: output