res·i·dent / ˈrez(ə)dənt; ˈrezəˌdent/ • n. 1. a person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis. ∎  a bird, butterfly, or other animal of a species that does not migrate. ∎  a person who boards at a boarding school. ∎  hist. a British government agent in any semi-independent state, esp. the governor general's agent at the court of an Indian state.2. a medical graduate engaged in specialized practice under supervision in a hospital.• adj. living somewhere on a long-term basis: he has been resident in Brazil for a long time. ∎  living at a school or institution: resident students. ∎  having quarters on the premises of one's work: resident farm workers. ∎  attached to and working regularly for a particular institution: the film studio needed a resident historian. ∎  (of a bird, butterfly, or other animal) nonmigratory; remaining in an area throughout the year. ∎  (of a computer program, file, etc.) immediately available in computer memory, rather than having to be loaded from elsewhere.DERIVATIVES: res·i·dent·ship / -ˌship/ n. ( hist. ).

resident Permanently present in main memory, as opposed to transient material that is loaded from disk when required.