modem

UK/ˈməʊdəm/US/ˈmoʊdəm/

nounB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,084 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: modems

A modem is a device connecting a computer to a telephone or cable line. A broadband modem, dial-up modem, restart the modem.

It turns the computer's digital signal into one a line can carry and back again at the other end. Most home boxes now combine a modem with a router, which is why people use the two words loosely.

Definitions of modem

1nounmodemA device connecting a computer to a telephone line.B2+
“The engineer replaced the modem and the line held for the first time in weeks.”

modem is a device.

Where it comes from

Modem is a clipping of modulator-demodulator, naming the two halves of what it does.

Clipping of modulator. a clipping of modulator-demodulator.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

modem in the wild

The serial bus was shared with the external modem port.
Apple Communication Slot
Because the power and serial pins remained unchanged between the two slots, it was possible to design a universal modem card which could work in either.
Apple Communication Slot
A fax modem enables a computer to transmit and receive documents as faxes on a telephone line.
Fax modem
A fax modem is similar to a data modem but is designed to transmit and receive documents to and from a fax machine or another fax modem.
Fax modem
In an unrelated venture, Catapult Entertainment later developed the 2400 bit/s XBAND modem, similar to the Teleplay Modem in many respects.
Teleplay Modem

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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