verb phrase · neutral

update software

UK/ʌpˈdeɪt ˈsɒftwɛər/US/ʌpˈdeɪt ˈsɔːftwɛr/up·DATE SOFT·ware

Band 4-5speakingtask2

to install the latest changes or fixes for a program

Examples

“You should update software regularly to protect your device.”

“My laptop asked me to update software overnight.”

“The company updates software to fix security issues.”

Band 8 sentence

“To reduce security risks, the IT department schedules time each week to update software across all company devices.”

Collocations

  • update software regularly
  • install an update

Word family

update verbupdate nounup-to-date adjective

Common mistakes

upgrade software→update software

update the software in my phone→update the software on my phone

Say it for a higher band

5upgrade software→6update software→7+update software

Synonyms

patch the software

Easily confused

upgrade the software

“I decided to upgrade the software to the newest major version.”

Related words

data breachdata protection lawsonline privacyintellectual property rightsdigital literacy skillsend-to-end encryptionsend an emailback up data

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