Standard Lemma guide

modem

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈməʊdəm/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈməʊdɛm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: mō'dəm
  • US: mō'dĕm
  • US: /ˈmoʊdəm/
  • US: /ˈmoʊdɛm/
  • CMU ARPABET: M OW1 D AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A device that encodes digital computer signals into analog telephone signals and vice versa, allowing computers to communicate over a phone line.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To transmit by modem.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

(from a combination of MOdulate and DEModulate) electronic equipment consisting of a device used to connect computers by a telephone line

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electronic equipment

Narrower terms: acoustic modem

History

Etymology

Clipping of modulator-demodulator.

Across languages

Translations

69 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Albanian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Arabic: مُودِم (mūdim) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Arabic: مُودِم (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܘܿܕܹܡ (mōdēm) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Armenian: մոդեմ (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Azerbaijani: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Belarusian: мадэ́м (madém) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Bengali: মডেম (moḍem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Bulgarian: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Catalan: mòdem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Chinese Mandarin: 調制解調器 /调制解调器 (tiáozhìjiětiáoqì) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Chinese Mandarin: 數據機 /数据机 (shùjùjī) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Czech: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Dutch: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Esperanto: modemo — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Estonian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Finnish: modeemi — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • French: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • West-Frisian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • West-Frisian: oerset — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Georgian: მოდემი (modemi) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • German: Modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Greek: διαποδιαμορφωτής (diapodiamorfotís) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Greek: μοντέμ (montém) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Hebrew: מוֹדֶם (módem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Hindi: मॉडेम (mŏḍem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Hungarian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Indonesian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Italian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Japanese: モデム (modemu) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Kazakh: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Khmer: ម៉ូដឹម (moodəm) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Korean: 모뎀 (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Kyrgyz: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Lao: ໂມເດັມ (mō dem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Latvian: modems — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Lithuanian: modemas — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Low German: Modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Low German: Toonwandler — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Macedonian: мо́дем (módem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Malay: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Māori: pouwhanga — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Mongolian: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Norman: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Persian: مودم (môdem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Polish: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Portuguese: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Romanian: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Russian: моде́м (modɛ́m) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Serbo-Croatian: мо̀де̄м — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Serbo-Croatian: mòdēm — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Slovak: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Slovene: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Spanish: módem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Spanish: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Swahili: modemu — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Swedish: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Tajik: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Tatar: модем (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Thai: โมเด็ม (moh-dem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Turkish: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Turkmen: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Ukrainian: моде́м (modém) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Urdu: موڈیم (moḍem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Uzbek: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Vietnamese: modem — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Vietnamese: bộ điều giải — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals
  • Yiddish: מאָדעם (modem) — device that encodes digital computer signals into analog/analogue telephone signals