software: Meaning and Definition of

soft•ware

1. the programs used to direct the operation of a computer, as well as documentation giving instructions on how to use them. Cf.(def. 5).
2. anything that is not hardware but is used with hardware, esp. audiovisual materials, as film, tapes, records, etc.: a studio fully equipped but lacking software.
3. prepackaged materials, as movies or reruns, used to fill out the major part of a station's program schedule.