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

But despite the improvements, Nvidia’s DLSS 5 announcement has already received some backlash over concerns that the GPU maker is merely adding an Instagram-like image filter over game-character faces. —Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Mar. 2026

That should change next week, when Nvidia holds its annual GTC event, called the GPU Technology Conference in its early days, in San Jose, California. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2026

Once on the chip, data musters in 64 megabytes of cache memory—somewhat more than an Nvidia Hopper-generation GPU. —IEEE Spectrum, 9 Mar. 2026

The machine comes with 8 gigabytes of memory, or RAM, a 6 core CPU, or main processor, and 5 core GPU, or graphics component, with no upgrades available. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

graphics processing unit

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above