supercomputer

A supercomputer is a computer that led the world (or was close to doing so) in terms of processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation, at the time of its introduction. The term "Super Computing" was first used by New York World newspaper in 1929 to refer to large custom-built tabulators IBM made for Columbia University.
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n. super computer, central computer that can independently compute much information and allows the execution of complicated scientific applications

n. supercomputer, central computer that has great calculating ability and allows operation of complex scientific applications

<computer> A broad term for one of the fastest computers currently available. Such computers are typically used for number crunching including scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical prospecting), structural analysis, computational fluid dynamics, physics, chemistry, electronic design, nuclear energy research and meteorology. Perhaps the best known supercomputer manufacturer is Cray Research.
A less serious definition, reported from about 1990 at The University Of New South Wales states that a supercomputer is any computer that can outperform IBM's current fastest, thus making it impossible for IBM to ever produce a supercomputer.
(1996-12-13)