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

The mobile 5070 uses the same GB206 silicon die as the desktop RTX 5060 instead of the larger, more powerful GB205 die in the desktop version of the RTX 5070, meaning that despite the RAM increase, the desktop version remains a much more powerful GPU. —Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2026

Onyx can also be configured to accelerate regular, dense applications, similar to the way a GPU or TPU would. —Olivia Hsu, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2026

Last in the power chain are rack power distribution units, which pass electricity along to the GPU-containing servers themselves. —Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026

There, rumors of a Razer Lake-AX chip line could feature a higher CPU core count, more cache, and a large integrated GPU, potentially offering a more midrange gaming experience without the need for a dedicated GPU. —Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

graphics processing unit

First Known Use

1973, in the meaning defined above