minicomputer (mini) Originally, a computer that physically went within a single equipment cabinet, i.e. on the order of a few cubic feet. Compared with larger computers, minicomputers were cheaper and slower, with smaller memory and usually shorter word length. The word minicomputer is no longer used very specifically. It predates the term microcomputer and the boundary between these two classes of device is unclear.

min·i·com·pu·ter / ˈminēkəmˌpyoōtər/ • n. a computer of medium power, more than a microcomputer but less than a mainframe.