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• gps
  gps

  abbreviation

  gallons per second.
• GPS
  GPS

  abbreviation

  Global Positioning System:

gps

¹ American  

Or GPS,

abbreviation

1. gallons per second.

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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.

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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

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GPS Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of Global Positioning System

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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

With the help of location-sensing technology like embedded gps chips in cell phones, you won't even have to explain where you are.

From Time Magazine Archive

Unlike other states, California requires that rental agencies wait to turn on GPS tracking until the vehicle return deadline has passed and the renter has been contacted by the company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

California sees significant theft, in part, because of its restrictive privacy laws on GPS tracking of rental vehicles, according to Sharky Laguana, owner of Bandago Van Rentals based in San Francisco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

As Ms. Dunn writes, that episode was among the first occasions—but certainly won’t be the last—during which civilians discovered with shock what GPS “was actually for.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

"If nature developed a GPS, a particle that can be relied upon to navigate thousands of kilometers across the ocean, then it would be something like this," he said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

“That makes sense. I’ll just look at the GPS location on my phone, and...”

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix