GPU

abbreviation or noun

ˌjē-(ˌ)pē-ˈyü 

variants or less commonly gpu

plural GPUs also gpus

: a specialized CPU designed to efficiently perform calculations for generating computer graphics

A GPU can deliver hundreds of billions of operations per second—some GPUs more than a teraflop, or a trillion operations per second—while requiring only slightly more electrical power and cooling than a CPU.

—Andrea Di Blas et al.

Examples of GPU in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, a lusty CPU and GPU can only do so much in local AI processing if the system lacks adequate RAM and local storage to hold and manipulate large models. —John Burek, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026

Huang added that Nvidia was starting to roll out photonics on its networking platform and GPU-to-GPU interconnect platform. —Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 29 May 2026

Moreover the key driver defining the competitiveness of next-generation HBM chips is the management of the thermal power density at an interface connecting HBM and the Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) also known as the Die-to-Die Physical Layer (D2D PHY). —Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 27 May 2026

For the deal to count as a real sale, Valor needed to actually obtain control of the GPU. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 25 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

graphics processing unit

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above