processor

American  

[pros-es-er, proh-ses-] / ˈprɒs ɛs ər, ˈproʊ sɛs- /

Sometimes processer

noun

• processors
  plural

1. a person or thing that processes.

2. Computers.

   1. a controller, the key component of a computing device that contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute electrical signals fed into the device.

   2. a computer.

3. food processor.

---

processor British  

/ ˈprəʊsɛsə /

noun

1. computing another name for central processing unit

2. a person or thing that carries out a process

---

processor Scientific  

/ prŏs′ĕs′ər,prō′sĕs′- /

1. A part of a computer, such as the central processing unit, that performs calculations or other manipulations of data.

2. A program that translates another program into a form acceptable by the computer being used.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• processors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of processor

First recorded in 1905–10; process + -or ²

Explanation

A processor is a person or machine that goes through certain procedures to achieve a particular result. A milk processor milks cows, stores the milk, pasteurizes it, and bottles it before you buy it a store. There are many different kinds of processors, but what they all have in common is going through a process, a series of specific steps, to accomplish something. The food processor in your kitchen quickly dices pounds of onions, a task that would take considerable work to complete by hand. A word processor does the same for writing, allowing you to easily edit text. Computer processors control and move vast amounts of data. The Latin root means "advance or progress."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

processor processors

“It is a very still labor market,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at payroll processor ADP, said in a TV interview this week.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

"I think growing up in Appalachia, she's always been my hero," Donchatz, a 35-year-old mortgage processor from Asheville, North Carolina, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Company executives say they design their chips using a distinctive design approach called “cluster-scale memory,” a way of allowing multiple chips inside a server to communicate more quickly and thus act as one processor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Make the filling: Pulse the cream cheese, Parmesan, giardiniera and herbs in a food processor until chunky and spreadable, not smooth.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

I pushed a food processor to the side.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

Financial technology companies often rely on third-party processors and banks, Hinkle said, so the bureau’s investigators would also scrutinize what outside firms Bilt uses and what the communications have been with those firms.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

It may also contribute to efforts to expand quantum processors and ultimately move them closer to fault-tolerant operation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Its financial success and processors are now central the AI boom, powering the data centres used to train and run AI models.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Graphing calculators are no longer the novelty they were roughly half a century ago, and the cost of components like LCD screens and processors has fallen since then.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

But even the best software isn’t smart enough to assign trees reliably, so writers cannot offload the task of minding the tree onto their word processors.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker