technology

technology — noun

1. the use of scientific knowledge to design and create tools, machines, and system

1.nounA2
Definition

the use of scientific knowledge to design and create tools, machines, and systems that make everyday tasks easier or help solve practical problems

Example

Modern technology has completely changed the way people communicate across long distances.

uncountable noun + singular verb agreement

The school invested in new technology to help students learn more effectively.

Common collocations
  • modern technology
  • new technology
  • advanced technology
  • medical technology
  • digital technology
  • information technology
  • technology sector
  • technology company
Synonyms
  • engineering

    focuses on designing and building structures/machines; narrower than technology

  • innovation

    emphasises new ideas and inventions; more abstract than technology

  • applied science

    formal; highlights the scientific basis of technology

Antonyms
  • nature

    what exists without human intervention or design

Grammar Patterns

technology + verb (singular agreement)

Usage Note

In this sense technology is uncountable and takes a singular verb. Use the + technology for the general field (e.g. the impact of technology on society).

Common Mistakes

Technologies are advancing very fast' (when referring to the general field).
Technology is advancing very fast.
The uncountable sense covers the field as a whole; use technologies only when naming multiple specific products or methods.

2. a specific device, system, or method that has been created using scientific know

2.nounB1
Definition

a specific device, system, or method that has been created using scientific knowledge to perform a particular function

Example

The hospital introduced a new scanning technology that produces clearer images of the brain.

countable: 'a new scanning technology'

Farmers in the region are adopting water-saving technologies to cope with the drought.

plural: 'technologies' for multiple specific systems

Common collocations
  • voice-recognition technology
  • scanning technology
  • battery technology
  • adopt a technology
  • develop a technology
  • cutting-edge technology
  • emerging technologies
Synonyms
  • device

    more concrete; usually a physical object rather than a method or system

  • system

    broader; may include non-technical procedures

  • innovation

    emphasises novelty; a technology may not be new

Grammar Patterns

a/the technology

technologies (plural)

Usage Note

This sense is countable and often used with a / an in the singular. The plural technologies refers to multiple distinct devices or methods (e.g. communication technologies). Compound nouns like battery technology or scanning technology treat technology as a mass noun but refer to a sub-type — these are borderline between sense 1 and sense 2.

Common Mistakes

I study technology at university' (meaning a specific device).
I study technology at university
That is correct as the uncountable field sense.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While technology is the broad application of scientific knowledge to practical problems, engineering is a narrower field focused on designing and building structures, machines, and systems. Innovation emphasises newness and originality — an innovation may or may not involve technology (e.g. a new business model). Science is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, whereas technology applies that knowledge. Technique refers to a specific method or skill used to carry out a task, often manual or procedural rather than machine-based. For example: 'The science behind solar panels is decades old, but the technology that makes them affordable is still improving.'

engineering ↗innovation ↗science ↗technique ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • technology sector
  • technology company
  • technology industry
  • technology development
  • technology transfer
  • technology education

Adverbs

  • technologically

Phrases

  • state of the art technology
  • cutting-edge technology
  • high technology
  • information technology

Prepositions

  • in technology
  • of technology
  • with technology
  • through technology

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word comes from Greek tekhnē meaning 'art, skill, craft' and -logia meaning 'study of'. Latin and French passed it into English. Its modern meaning of 'applied science' emerged during the Industrial Revolution.