hand-held microcomputer
- noun
- /ˈhændˌhɛld ˌmaɪkroʊˈkəmˌpjuːtər/
:
microordenador de mano
- My new hand-held microcomputer fits perfectly in my pocket.
Examples
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The engineer used a hand-held microcomputer to collect data in the field.
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With a hand-held microcomputer, users could access information anywhere and anytime.
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Early hand-held microcomputers paved the way for modern smartphones and tablets.
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Have you seen the latest hand-held microcomputers on the market?
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The engineer used a hand-held microcomputer to collect data in the field.
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With a hand-held microcomputer, users could access information anywhere and anytime.
-
My new hand-held microcomputer fits perfectly in my pocket.
Synonyms
35
3.7
A small electronic device you hold and use with one hand
2
3.2
A small portable computer you hold in one hand
How Portable
Surface Forms
Morphology
hand-held + microcomputer
The overall meaning is directly and transparently built from the parts: 'hand-held' (held in the hand) plus 'microcomputer' (a compact computer) yields a small, portable computer intended to be carried/used in the hand. This is a regular English compounding pattern (and common across languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning even if the exact dictionary entry for 'hand-held' is missing.
Etymology
Hand-held microcomputer comes from two parts: hand-held 'small enough to hold in one hand' and microcomputer 'a small computer'. Early pocket-sized devices such as calculators could be held and used in the hand, so that's why the phrase means 'a small, portable computer' today.