SINCE 1828
coprocessor
noun
co·pro·ces·sor
| \ (ˌ)kō-ˈprä-se-sər
, -ˈprō-\
, -ˈprō-\
Definition of coprocessor
: an extra processor in a computer that is designed to perform specialized tasks (such as mathematical calculations)
Examples of coprocessor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This bridge card also includes a math coprocessor, which boosts the performance of some tasks. — Chris Wilkinson, Ars Technica, "1990, meet 2018: How far does 20MHz of Macintosh IIsi power go today?," 1 July 2018 The company already, after all, makes its own A-series processors for not just the iPhone but also the S-series for the Apple Watch, the W-series for wireless headphones, as well as coprocessors that have already found their way into the Mac line. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "For Apple, Quitting Intel Won't Come Easy," 3 Apr. 2018 The Cray machines use a mix of Intel Xeon processors, Nvidia Tesla P100 GPUs, Xeon Phi coprocessors, and FPGAs, with a number of different interconnects, including InfiniBand (also used in Azure) and Cray's own Aries interconnect. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Cray supercomputers coming to Azure cloud," 23 Oct. 2017 The coprocessor's chief job will be implementing deep neural networks — a machine learning technique with a structure that loosely resembles the human brain — into the HoloLens' core processing unit. — Lisa Eadicicco, Time, "A 'Smart Headset' War Between Microsoft and Google Could Revolutionize the Workplace," 24 July 2017 Coprocessors are gaining ground in the Top500, with 71 systems using Nvidia GPUs, 14 using Xeon Phi, and three using both. — Peter Sayer, PCWorld, "Mid-range models ring the changes in Top500 supercomputer ranking," 19 June 2017 The schematic is for a NAND flash component, and mentions a ‘PN65V’ model number chip, an NFC chip made by NXP Corp (a company that makes NFC chips for other smartphone manufacturers as well as the iPhone 5s’ motion coprocessor). — Christina Bonnington, WIRED, "This Week’s Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible," 22 Aug. 2014 For example, a security or networking coprocessor can be tacked onto the core design. — Agam Shah, PCWorld, "Open-source chip mimics Linux's path to take on closed x86 and ARM CPUs," 4 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coprocessor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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