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Word ○›｜Definition｜1st｜20260715003450-00-⌔
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word, or simply Word, is a word processing program developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983,1 under the original name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems.234 Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS (1983), Apple Macintosh running the Classic Mac OS (1985), AT&T UNIX PC (1985), Atari ST (1988), OS/2 (1989), Microsoft Windows (1989), SCO Unix (1990), Handheld PC (1996), Pocket PC (2000), macOS (2001), Web browsers (2010), iOS (2014), and Android (2015).
Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard word processing software since the 1990s when it eclipsed WordPerfect.5 Commercial versions of Word are licensed as a standalone product or as a component of Microsoft Office, which can be purchased with a perpetual license, as part of the Microsoft 365 suite as a subscription, or as a one-time purchase with Office 2024.6
Printed 2026-07-15.
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Link to original Footnotes
“Version 1.0 of today’s most popular applications, a visual tour – Pingdom Royal”. Pingdom. June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2016. ↩
A. Allen, Roy (October 2001). “Chapter 12: Microsoft in the 1980s” (PDF). A History of the Personal Computer: The People and the Technology (1st ed.). Allan Publishing. pp. 12/25–12/26. ISBN 978-0-9689108-0-1. Retrieved November 7, 2010. ↩
“Microsoft Office online, Getting to know you…again: The Ribbon”. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. ↩
“The history of branding, Microsoft history”. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. ↩
Till A. Heilmann (2023). “The Beginnings of Word Processing: A Historical Account”. Digital Writing Technologies in Higher Education. pp. 3–14. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-36033-6_1. ISBN 978-3-031-36032-9. ↩
“Buy Office Home 2024 for PC or Mac (formerly Home & Student) - Download & Pricing | Microsoft Store”. Microsoft. ↩
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