CPU

abbreviation or noun

ˌsē-(ˌ)pē-ˈyü 

variants or less commonly cpu

plural CPUs also cpus

: the component of a computer system that performs the system's basic operations (such as processing data), that exchanges data with the system's memory or peripherals, and that manages the system's other components

The speed at which the central processing unit (CPU) runs, measured in megahertz, is a good indicator of a computer's power …

—Brad Hill

These [gaming] consoles require operating systems and CPUs that are different from desktop computers.

—finance.yahoo.com

—often used before another noun

CPU speed/performance

called also central processing unit, processor

Examples of CPU in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Outside of Google’s TPUs, Amazon has developed a lineup of custom chips, including its CPU, Graviton, and its AI accelerator, Trainium, which are used internally and sold to customers to power their applications. — Paulina Likos, CNBC, 27 June 2026

This laptop can satisfy both gamers and content creators, with a Blackwell-series RTX 5070 graphics card and the impressive Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, delivering peak performance for on-device Copilot AI and resource-intensive creative apps. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 June 2026

This 15-inch Legion has an Intel Core i9 14900HX CPU, RTX 5070 GPU (the 8GB VRAM version), 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. — Antonio G. Di Benedetto, The Verge, 23 June 2026

Silicon vendors target specific classes of robotic applications with various combinations of CPU, GPU, NPU and memory architecture. — Bill Curtis, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

central processing unit

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cpu

noun

ˌsē-ˌpē-ˈyü 

often capitalized C&P&U

: the part of a computer that does most of the data processing

Etymology

central processing unit