laptop

laptop — noun

1. a flat, foldable computer with a built-in screen and keyboard that runs on a bat

1.nounB1
Definition

a flat, foldable computer with a built-in screen and keyboard that runs on a battery, designed so you can carry it and use it in different places

Example

Aoi takes her laptop to the library every day after class.

everyday habit with laptop

When the battery on Defne's laptop died, she moved to a table near an outlet.

collocation: laptop battery / battery dies

Common collocations
  • buy / own / use / carry a laptop
  • laptop bag / screen / keyboard / battery / charger
  • lightweight / powerful / broken laptop
  • work on / type on a laptop
Synonyms
  • notebook

    an older or slightly less common term; now often refers to a thinner, lighter model

  • portable computer

    a more formal, generic term covering any computer you can move from place to place

Antonyms
  • desktop computer

    a computer designed to stay in one place, usually with a separate screen, keyboard, and tower

Grammar Patterns

a/the + laptop

laptop + noun (attributive)

Usage Note

Laptop is often used attributively before another noun: laptop computer, laptop bag, laptop screen.

Common Mistakes

I forgot my laptop computer at home.
I forgot my laptop at home.
'Laptop' alone is the everyday term; adding 'computer' is redundant.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'laptop' is the general term for a portable computer with a built-in keyboard and screen, 'notebook' was once interchangeable but now often means a thinner, lighter model. 'Netbook' refers to a smaller, cheaper laptop popular around 2008–2012 but rarely used today. 'Ultrabook' is a specific trademarked category of very thin, high-end laptops that run Intel processors. 'Tablet' differs fundamentally: it has a touchscreen and no attached physical keyboard, though some models accept detachable keyboards. If you need a keyboard for typing essays or code, choose a laptop rather than a tablet.

notebook ↗netbooktablet ↗ultrabook

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • work on a laptop
  • carry a laptop
  • turn on / shut down a laptop

Prepositions

  • on a laptop
  • with a laptop

Etymology

English

A blend of 'lap' (the flat area formed by your thighs when sitting) and 'top' (upper surface). The word was coined in the 1980s to describe a computer small enough to rest on a person's lap, in contrast to a 'desktop' computer that sits on a desk.