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Synonyms

CPU

American  

abbreviation

Computers.

  1. central processing unit: the key component of a computer system, which contains the circuitry necessary to interpret and execute program instructions.

CPU British  

abbreviation

  1. central processing unit

"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
CPU Scientific  

  1. Abbreviation of central processing unit

CPU Cultural  

  1. An abbreviation for c entral p rocessing u nit. The “brain” of a computer, the CPU is where data manipulation actually takes place. The results of these manipulations are then stored in the computer memory. Microprocessors perform this function in personal computers.

Etymology

Origin of CPU

First recorded in 1965–70

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.

On the earnings call, CEO Rene Haas expressed confidence that the company would have the largest market share by CPU type come the end of the decade.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

Intel and Arm are both players in the CPU market for AI servers, while Qualcomm is also getting into the data-center chip market.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

AMD investors are paying more attention to CPU momentum than they were recently.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

“The world has changed,” Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore wrote as he considered how investors have become much more swayed by CPU results than in the past.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

I look over the fence to see if I can spot Ray, but no Ray and no CPU.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.