Instruction set is the complete collection of commands and instructions that a CPU understands and can execute. It's like a chef's repertoire of recipes - sure, they might be able to make a mean soufflé, but if it's not in their instruction set, you're out of luck.

How to use it in a sentence

• I was trying to optimize my code for the new Tesla Bot, but then I realized its instruction set doesn't even include basic arithmetic - typical Silicon Valley vaporware.

• My coworker keeps bragging about how his new quantum computer can solve traveling salesman problems in constant time, but I'm pretty sure that's not in any instruction set known to man.

If you actually want to learn more...

• ALU: Association of Lisp Users - A great resource for all things Lisp, including articles, tutorials, and community forums. If you want to dive deep into Lisp's powerful instruction set, this is the place to start.

• Fortran I - Paul Graham provides a fascinating historical overview of Fortran I, one of the earliest high-level programming languages. It's a great read if you want to understand how far instruction sets have come since the 1950s.

• Succinctness is Power - In this thought-provoking essay, Paul Graham argues that the succinctness of a language's instruction set is a key factor in its power and efficiency. A must-read for any language design nerds out there.

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.