computes

Computes is the third-person singular present tense of the verb compute. It means to determine a result by calculation, often using mathematics, logic, or data processing. The term is widely used in science, engineering, and everyday language to describe performing a calculation or producing an answer from given inputs. The word derives from Latin computare, meaning to reckon or sum up, and has been used in English since the Middle Ages in contexts ranging from simple arithmetic to more complex analyses.

In practice, computes is used to express that a procedure or algorithm yields a result. For example, a software function may compute a value from its inputs, a calculator computes a total, and an algorithm computes a solution to a problem. The nuance between compute and calculate is subtle and varies by context: compute often implies a procedure executed by a machine or a defined set of rules, while calculate can emphasize numerical arithmetics performed by hand or by a system.

In computing contexts, compute is also common as a noun in industry jargon, referring to processing power or resources rather than the act itself. Phrases such as compute resources, compute instances, and high-performance compute describe hardware and services designed to perform large-scale calculations or data processing. As technology advances, the scope of what is said to be computed continues to expand, encompassing numeric, symbolic, and data-driven tasks across domains.