Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. (context computer hardware English) The part of a computer that fetches, decodes and executes instructions; attached directly to the memory. Abbreviated: CPU.
WordNet
n. (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached [syn: CPU, C.P.U., central processor, processor, mainframe]
Wikipedia
A central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. The term has been used in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s. Traditionally, the term "CPU" refers to a processor, more specifically to its processing unit and control unit (CU), distinguishing these core elements of a computer from external components such as main memory and I/O circuitry.
The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed over the course of their history, but their fundamental operation remains almost unchanged. Principal components of a CPU include the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that fetches instructions from memory and "executes" them by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components.
Most modern CPUs are microprocessors, meaning they are contained on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. An IC that contains a CPU may also contain memory, peripheral interfaces, and other components of a computer; such integrated devices are variously called microcontrollers or systems on a chip (SoC). Some computers employ a multi-core processor, which is a single chip containing two or more CPUs called "cores"; in that context, single chips are sometimes referred to as "sockets". Array processors or vector processors have multiple processors that operate in parallel, with no unit considered central.
Central processing unit is one of the Psychedelic Trance project of Samy Guediche. Samy is originally from Switzerland but later on moved to Santa Cruz, California. His former projects include Biodegradable - along with Nicolas Oesch AKA Mekkanikka, Max Peterson & Laurent Delhom, The Three Mosketeers (with Nitzan Shachaf & Roy Engel AKA Painkiller) and Bioeclipse with Loïc Van Poucke ( Mystery Of The Yeti, Total Eclipse), Nicolas Oesch and Stephen Holweck (former founder member of Juno Reactor, Mystery Of The Yeti, Total Eclipse)
Usage examples of "central processing unit".
For instance Von Neumann's digital computer consists of a central processing unit which carries out arithmetical and electrical operations, and a storage unit, immediately christened by its designers a memory.
I want you to see if you are aware of the central processing unit, can tap into it or hear itor whatever we might call it.
His touch was relentless, as if his brilliant ideas would vanish like smoke if he didn't pound them instantly into the central processing unit of his machine.
Their outputs feed charge-coupled devices, which pass an electronic version of the scene behind you, in full detail, to the suit's central processing unit (cpu).
Terminals fizzed and jerked as the thousands of cables discharged their loads into his Central Processing Unit.
Now he used the laptop to access the central processing unit of the Kremlin's phone system.
The robothunters tentacle snaked through an entry port and found the creatures central processing unit somewhere deep in its innards.
In a GUI machine, the chips that draw things on the screen have to be integrated with the computer's central processing unit, or CPU, to a far greater extent than is the case with command-line interfaces, which until recently didn't even know that they weren't just talking to teletypes.