Mi ‧ cro ‧ soft /ˈmaɪkrəʊˌsɒft $ -ˌsɔːft/ BrE AmE trademark
a US company which is one of the world's largest and most important producers of computer ↑ software . It is known especially for its Windows ↑ operating system , which is used on most ↑ personal computer s , for Microsoft Word, a popular WORD-PROCESSING program, and for Internet Explorer, a popular program for searching the Internet. The company was started by Bill Gates, who is still its chief director.