Noun

Singular hardware

Plural uncountable

hardware (uncountable)

1. Metal implements.
2. Firearm.
3. Electronic equipment.
4. The part of a computer that is fixed and cannot be altered without replacement or physical modification; motherboard, expansion cards, etc. Compare software.
   • 1952: Hardware is the generally accepted colloquism for anything inside a computer other than an engineer. — Binary Arithmetic, R.L. Michaelson, in The Incorporated Statistician, vol. 3, no. 1 (Feb. 1952), pp 35-40.
5. Fixtures, equipment, tools and devices used for general purpose construction and repair of a structure or object . Also such equipment as sold as stock by a store of the same name, e.g. hardware store.

   He needed a hammer, nails, screws, nuts, bolts and other assorted hardware, so he went to the hardware store.

Related terms

• software
• hardware store

Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware.

Hardware historically meant the metal parts and fittings that were used to make wooden products stronger, more functional, longer lasting and easier to fabricate or assemble.

Modern hardware stores typically sell equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, corners, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts, especially when they are made of metal.

In a more colloquial sense, hardware can refer to military equipment, such as tanks, aircraft, ships or munitions. In the case of vehicles, such may instead be referred to as armour.

In slang, the term can also refer to trophies and other physical representations of awards.