Word.ws English Dictionary

the computer says no

the computer says no is the alternative form of computer says no.

Meaning of computer says no

Phrase

computer says no

  1. (humorous) Alluding to an attitude where decisions are based solely on the output of a computer system, apparently without using common sense and without any desire to help, especially in customer or public service.
    • The immigration minister has said she wants to change the “computer says no” culture of the Home Office, after being confronted with evidence that up to 1,000 highly skilled immigrants face being deported for minor errors on their tax forms.2018 May 8, Heather Stewart, “Immigration minister wants to end 'computer says no' culture at Home Office”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Questions about the computer says no

What is the computer says no the alternative form of?
The computer says no is the alternative form of computer says no.

Words near the computer says no in the dictionary

  1. the cobbler always wears the worst shoes
  2. the cobbler's children are the worst shod
  3. the cobbler's children go barefoot
  4. The Colony
  5. the com
  6. the computer says no
  7. the corpse at every funeral
  8. The County
  9. the course of true love never did run smooth
  10. The Cove
  11. the cow is out of the barn

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the computer says no (page history and authors); computer says no (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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