corrupt
kuh-RUPT
/kəˈrʌpt/
To damage or alter digital data, making it unreadable, unusable, or structurally flawed.
In computing, corruption is accidental and structural. It happens due to power outages, hardware failures, or software bugs, turning a file into digital gibberish.
The story behind the word. From Latin com- (together) + rumpere (to break). For centuries, it referred to moral decay or bribery. With the advent of digital storage in the mid-20th century, engineers used it to describe files whose internal structure had been 'broken' or scrambled.
Word relationships
- compromise: Compromise means to weaken or expose to danger (like a security breach), while corrupt means to physically scramble or damage the data itself.
- validate: To validate means to check and confirm that data is clean, correct, and uncorrupted.
Commonly confused with
- broken: Corrupt refers to structurally damaged digital data, while broken can refer to non-functional software logic or physical hardware.
Word family
- corruption (noun): The process of turning data from a healthy state to an unreadable state.
Collocations
- corrupt file
- corrupt database
- data corruption
- become corrupt
Example sentences
- "If the application closes unexpectedly while saving, the project file may become corrupt." A troubleshooting guide for a video editing app.
Memory hook
Think of a 'rupture' (break) in the data stream that breaks the file. A rupture in the data makes it unreadable.
When not to use
Do not use corrupt to describe a computer that has been physically smashed; use 'damaged' or 'broken'. Corrupt refers to the data inside.
Fun facts
- Cosmic rays—high-energy radiation from outer space—can occasionally flip a single bit in a computer's memory, causing silent data corruption.
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