Jump To:

• gps
  gps

  abbreviation

  gallons per second.
• GPS
  GPS

  abbreviation

  Global Positioning System:

gps

¹ American  

Or GPS,

abbreviation

1. gallons per second.

---

GPS ² American  

[jee-pee-es] / ˈdʒiˈpiˈɛs /

abbreviation

1. Global Positioning System:

   1. a global system of U.S. navigational satellites developed to provide precise positional and velocity data and global time synchronization for air, sea, and land travel.

   2. an electronic system that uses these satellites to determine the position of a vehicle, person, etc..

      School buses will be equipped with GPS.

   3. Also called GPS receiver.  a receiver that determines its position by analyzing the satellite signals it receives.

      With the GPS in a smartphone, a utilities maintenance crew can navigate to within a few feet of a water meter.

---

verb (used with object)

GPSed, GPS'd, GPSing

1. to locate, track, or map by using a GPS system: The trail was scouted and GPSed by volunteers.

   My dad asked me to GPS the nearest gas station.

   The trail was scouted and GPSed by volunteers.

2. to equip with a GPS system.

   My new Honda is GPSed.

verb (used without object)

GPSed, GPS'd, GPSing

1. to use a GPS system to get to a place.

   With two hours to kill in an unfamiliar area, I GPSed to a shopping center.

GPS British  

abbreviation

1. global positioning system

2. (in Australia) Great Public Schools; used of a group of mainly nonstate schools, and of sporting competitions between them

---

GPS Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of Global Positioning System

---

Etymology

Origin of GPS

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gps GPS

The researchers put the battery to the test in a pulse oximeter sensor and a gps sensor, illustrating its versatility for wearable devices.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2024

And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2018

And it’s been shown that our smart phones can track us even when gps is turned off.

From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2018

Point out historical sites based on gps data?

From Forbes ● Jan. 9, 2012

Buses would be equipped with gps sensors that would allow traffic officers working from a high-tech control room to track their movements throughout the city and adjust routes automatically for maximum efficiency.

From Time Magazine Archive

GPS, power grids and satellites are some of the vital technologies vulnerable to changes in the earth's magnetic field.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

The new findings show how animal GPS tracking and mobile-device data can support more precise conservation strategies.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Satellites near Earth commonly rely on GPS for navigation, but those signals may be weak, unreliable, or unavailable around the Moon and in deep space.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

Prof Nellis said that while Scotland has been slow to embrace GPS technology, the campaign could now find itself "pushing at an open door" because ministers are actively exploring ways of reducing the prison population.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Those were in their infancy, with the first TomTom GO GPS first appearing in the Netherlands in 2005.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel