IBM

English

Wikipedia

Proper noun

IBM

1. International Business Machines.
2. International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Translations

International Business Machines

Arabic: آي‌ بي‌ إم (ar) ('ay bii 'em) m., أي‌بي‌إم (ar) ('ay bii 'em) m. Japanese: アイ・ビー・エム (ja) (ai-bī-emu)

Russian: Ай-Би-Эм (ru) (Aj-Bi-Ém) f.

Noun

IBM (plural IBMs)

1. intercontinental ballistic missile.
2. (figuratively) A company that dominates its field.
   • 1968, George Washington University, Computers-in-Law Institute, National Law Center, The Law of Software: 1968 Proceedings:

     Univac was the IBM of the computer industry's incipiency; in 1952 Univac had virtually 100% of the market.

   • 1982, Tracy Kidder, The Soul Of A New Machine (ISBN 0380599317), page 238:

     First, to Sperry Univac, the descendent of the first real computer company, which might have become the IBM of the industry had it not blown its early lead;

   • 1990, Alfred Balk, The Myth of American Eclipse: The New Global Age (ISBN 0887383696), page 81:

     The US lead was mainly due to one firm, the IBM of its small, specialized field: Cray Research Inc.

Anagrams

• bim, BMI, MiB