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  • gps
    gps
    abbreviation
    gallons per second.
  • GPS
    GPS
    abbreviation
    Global Positioning System:
Synonyms

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

"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

GPS Scientific  
  1. Abbreviation of Global Positioning System


Etymology

Origin of GPS

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

See Examples For:

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

I have a $200 gps in my truck that warns me about school zones and radar traps!

From New York Times Dec. 19, 2017

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

The mobile app Pokémon Go, which is now celebrating its 10th anniversary, uses GPS and augmented reality to let players find and catch virtual monsters in real-world locations.

From BBC Jul. 13, 2026

While laboratories define the world’s time, GPS delivers that information to most of the machines that rely on atomic clocks.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 5, 2026

The BBC understands the 73-year-old left prison earlier and is now in secure accommodation, wearing a GPS electronically monitored tag.

From BBC Jul. 2, 2026

The government granted public access to GPS, which had been created to guide troops and weapons.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 29, 2026

“The GPS tracker will bring them. Soon, I think.”

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

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