throughput

American  

[throo-poot] / ˈθruˌpʊt /

Or thruput

noun

throughputs plural

1. the quantity or amount of raw material processed within a given time, especially the work done by an electronic computer in a given period of time.

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throughput British  

/ ˈθruːˌpʊt /

noun

1. the quantity of raw material or information processed or communicated in a given period, esp by a computer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• throughputs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of throughput

1920–25; from phrase put through, modeled on output

Explanation

Use the noun throughput to talk about how fast communication can travel over a channel, from input to output. For a computer system, the input is the information you enter, and the output is the information that is produced by the program. Throughput refers to how much output is being produced relative to the input. A system could send information at 50 bits per second of throughput, or 500 bits per minute. Throughput is a measure of how fast and efficient the program is, and maximum throughput is often called "bandwidth."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

throughput throughputs

“We’re able to increase throughput, also improve the quality that’s coming out the back end of that material and sell it at a premium.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

“Compared with our in-house estimates, slightly lower grades and recoveries are more than offset by a higher mill throughput, gold production rates and lower capital costs,” Bell Potter says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

"Labour is introducing a new appeals system where appeals will be heard not by a judge, but by an independent adjudicator. So they're hoping that will increase the throughput of the appeals system."

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

“We know exactly what we need to do to continue to increase throughput and drive speed up,” Feldman said.

From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026

"I want to check the throughput reactance first."

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

Chinese refiners’ throughputs dropped to a six-year low in May, consistent with its decline in crude imports, according to the IEA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

But price gains could have been capped by an easing of crude oil throughputs at Chinese refineries.

From Reuters ● Nov. 6, 2023

Of course, throughputs of assembly lines and the price of tires are less sexy and fun than rockets, reimagining the electricity grid, and transforming the idea of what a car is.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2016

"Consumers will experience gigabits-per-second throughputs and single-millisecond latencies," according to Verizon.

From The Verge ● Jul. 11, 2016

The IT department frantically tries to find out why they are experiencing slow throughputs.

From Forbes ● Jul. 9, 2014