n.1. a. A listing of the order of events and other pertinent information for a public presentation.
b. The presentation itself: a program of piano pieces.
2. A scheduled radio or television show.
3. An ordered list of events to take place or procedures to be followed; a schedule: a program of physical therapy for a convalescent.
4. A system of services, opportunities, or projects, usually designed to meet a social need: "Working parents rely on the center's after-school latchkey program" New York Times.
5. a. A course of academic study; a curriculum.
b. A plan or system of academic and related or ancillary activities: a work-study program.
c. A plan or system of nonacademic extracurricular activities: the football program.
6. A set of coded instructions that enables a machine, especially a computer, to perform a desired sequence of operations.
7. An instruction sequence in programmed instruction.
tr.v. pro·grammed or
pro·gramed,
pro·gram·ming or
pro·gram·ing,
pro·grams 1. To include or schedule in a program: program a new musical composition.
2. To design a program for; schedule the activities of.
3. To provide (a machine) with a set of coded working instructions.
4. To train to perform automatically in a desired way, as if programming a machine: programmed the children to use perfect table manners.
5. To prepare an instructional sequence for (material to be taught) in programmed instruction.