microprocessor
Americannoun
noun
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Etymology
Origin of microprocessor
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Explanation
Your computer has a number of microprocessors — each one a very small device with integrated circuits built into it that carry out the computer's logical operations. Because a microprocessor is so small, more than one is needed. A microprocessor is a chip inside your computer's central processing unit (CPU) or inside your phone or other mobile or smart device. Each one is something like a mini CPU itself, receiving digital signals, carrying out logical and arithmetic operations, and connecting peripherals (electronic equipment connected by cables) and memory chips. The word microprocessor uses the combining form micro-, from Greek mikros, meaning "small."
Vocabulary lists containing microprocessor
Computer Science and Technology - High School
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Electrical Engineering
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Engineering - Middle School
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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.
The 1948 invention of the transistor and the 1972 microprocessor led to smaller, more-powerful computers and helped the internet’s rise.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Lynn Conway, who died Sunday at 86, was a leader in the development of personal computers and microprocessor technology, and a symbol for generations of transgender individuals.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025
On a parabolic flight last year, where John experienced weightlessness for the first time, he found his day-to-day, hi-tech, microprocessor prosthetic leg would need recalibrating.
From BBC • May 8, 2024
The microprocessor Myny and his colleagues built is the iconic MOS 6502.
From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024
These master-regulatory genes work by turning other genes on and off; they can be likened to circuits in a microprocessor.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
