analog

CEFRB2

/ˈænəˌlɒɡ/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Using continuously changing signals rather than digital signals.
02
noun
A device or system that uses continuously changing signals.

Examples

Which kind of watch do you prefer, digital or analog?
My watch is analog.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 5
Parts of speech: 2
Citations: 5
Synonyms: 1

Also pronounced

[ˈanəlɔɡ]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

Not relating to, or pre-dating, digital technology such as computers and the Internet; relating to real life.
Something that bears an analogy to something else.
In which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuous(ly) variable physical quantity that can be measured (such as the shadow of a sundial).

More examples

In context

an analog (paper) map
See also: convergent evolution
an analog watch

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

My old wristwatch uses an blank display with rotating hands instead of digital numbers.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

But for these digital natives, the stubborn analog wonders of skin, handshakes, hugs, bread and wine, faces, names and spontaneous conversation is part of what intrigued them and kept them going to church.
2022 January 30, Tish Harrison Warren, “Why Churches Should Drop Their Online Services”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Not that I expect my children’s generation to be shocked by it all. Unlike my analog upbringing, they were born into a digital world.
2021 November 18, Kara Swisher, “The Prescience of 1970’s ‘Future Shock’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
But what, exactly, is a platform? In the analog world, a platform is where you catch a train or launch a rocket or give a speech — somewhere you go to do something else.
2021 September 15, Reeves Wiedeman, “Why Does Every Company Now Want to Be a Platform?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Effective analog dating demands a similar commitment to strategizing, she said, and “if you have your phone in your face, or earbuds in your ears, you’re not going to meet anyone.”
2025 June 6, Catherine Pearson, “A New Way to Date: The Old-Fashioned Way”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
E-bikes have now become so popular that old-fashioned, human-powered ones are tagged as “analog” or “acoustic” bikes.
2025 November 30, David Darlington, “The Shocking Crash That Led Marin County to Reckon With the Dangers of E-Bikes”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2025

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Origin

adjective

First attested in the early 19th century; from French analogue, from Ancient Greek ἀνάλογος (análogos, “proportionate”), from ἀνά (aná, “up to”) + λόγος (lógos, “ratio”). Equivalent to ana- (“functionally similar”) + -log.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

My old wristwatch uses an blank— display with rotating hands instead of digital numbers.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

My old wristwatch uses an blank display with rotating hands instead of digital numbers.