Inside the computer, in one grid
Every computer is a box of clever parts, and this word search gathers them. You'll be finding the bits you touch — MONITOR, KEYBOARD and MOUSE — the parts that do the thinking, from the PROCESSOR to the MEMORY and HARDDRIVE, and the add-ons around them, from the PRINTER to the WEBCAM.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the parts change every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Hardware and add-ons in the grid
The grid mixes the parts you can see with the ones hidden inside the case. There's the gear on your desk — the MONITOR and its SCREEN, the KEYBOARD, MOUSE and CURSOR, plus a LAPTOP or DESKTOP — and the brains within: the PROCESSOR, MEMORY and HARDDRIVE. Around them sit the add-ons and bits that keep it all going: the PRINTER, SCANNER, SPEAKER and WEBCAM, the CABLE, MODEM, CHARGER and BATTERY, and software ideas like the FOLDER, WINDOW, BACKUP and a quick REBOOT.
How a computer actually thinks
Behind the screen, a computer does something amazing: it follows millions of tiny instructions every second, far faster than any person could. The PROCESSOR (or CPU) is the 'brain' that does the work; MEMORY (RAM) is its short-term workspace, wiped each time you switch off, which is why an unsaved document vanishes; and the HARDDRIVE is the long-term store that remembers your files even when the power's gone — the reason a BACKUP matters so much. Everything on the MONITOR is built from tiny dots of light called a PIXEL, packed so closely your eye blends them into a smooth picture.
Computers have shrunk astonishingly fast. The first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC in the 1940s, filled a whole room and weighed about 30 tonnes — yet today's smartphone is millions of times more powerful and fits in a pocket. Knowing the parts and what each one does is a building block of ICT, making this a friendly fit for a 'parts of a computer' or hardware topic.
Great for a computing topic
It's a great fit for a 'parts of a computer' or hardware lesson — most words are short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words. Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own computing words.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the computers word search?
Computer parts and pieces — monitor, keyboard, mouse, processor, memory, hard drive and more. Each puzzle uses a fresh selection.
Does it cover the parts inside too?
It does — the bits you touch like the MONITOR, KEYBOARD and MOUSE, the parts that do the thinking like the PROCESSOR, MEMORY and HARDDRIVE, and add-ons like the PRINTER, SCANNER and WEBCAM.
Is it good for a computing topic?
Great fit for a 'parts of a computer' or hardware lesson. Most words are short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words.