Data base or database?
data base is a noun meaning “Dated spelling of database”; database is a noun meaning “A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually…”. Wiktionary gives them as spellings of the same word. data base is written as two words and database as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between data base and database?
| data base | database | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Meaning | Dated spelling of database | A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer A set of tables and other objects (queries, reports, forms) in the form of a structured data set To enter (data) into a database |
| Example | none recorded | I have a database of all my contacts in my personal organizer |
| Forms | data-bases | databases |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ˈdeɪtəˌbeɪs/ [ˈdeɪɾəˌbeɪs] |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 20 times per million words |
Sources: data base and database in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of data base and database
data base
- 1
Dated spelling of database
- 2
datedDated form of database
database
- 1
A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer
I have a database of all my contacts in my personal organizer
- 2
To enter (data) into a database
- 3
A set of tables and other objects (queries, reports, forms) in the form of a structured data set
The "books" database will have three tables, and the "customers" database will have two tables
- 4
A software program (application) for storing, retrieving and manipulating such a structured data set
Which database do you use: MySQL or Oracle?
- 5
A combination of such data sets and the programs for using them
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, data base or database?
data base is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; database 20 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search data base vs database?
“data base vs database” is searched about 50 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“database vs data base”, “data base or database”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.