main memory

American

noun

Computers.

program-addressable storage that is directly controlled by and generally contained in the CPU: except for cache storage, the fastest type of storage available to any computer system.

main memory British

noun

the central memory-storage facility in a computer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Our dear Uncle Tom, we loved him so much. He is my main memory of the war, and his photo is still by my bedside," said Dulcie, who turns 90 in June.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

His main memory of that time is an overwhelming sense of poverty.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2024

My main memory of that stint was having to be there by 7 a.m., which meant getting up by 6.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2023

The mechanism for this effect centers on the brain’s main memory hub, the hippocampus.

From Scientific American • Dec. 9, 2022

The main memory makes 511 registers available as index registers.

From Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3) October, 1960 by Digital Equipment Corporation

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023