source code

American

[sawrs kohd] / ˈsɔrs ˌkoʊd /

noun

Computers.

program instructions written in a programming language that is readable by humans and that must be converted to machine language before being executed.

source code British

noun

computing the original form of a computer program before it is converted into a machine-readable code

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

source code Scientific

/ sôrs /

Code written by a programmer in a high-level language and readable by people but not computers. Source code must be converted to object code or machine language by a compiler before a computer can read or execute the program.
Compare object code

Compare meaning

How does source-code compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

source code vs. object code

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

An earlier version of the source code had also been leaked in February 2025.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Like most proprietary software, Claude’s source code is usually obfuscated and hard to reverse engineer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Claude Code's source code was partially known, as the tool had been reverse-engineered by independent developers.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

Anthropic leaked 500,000 lines of its own source code.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

And he would also have had access to the planet’s source code, if he’d wanted to hide something here.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023