Central Processing Unit

Often abbreviated "CPU", this is the part of a computer that interprets and performs the instructions given to it by software. In many computers, this is further divided into a control unit that handles program flow and an arithmetic and logical unit that performs operations on data. The term is often used vaguely to include other centrally important parts of a computer such as storage and input/output control, especially in computers with modern microprocessor chips that include several of these functions in one physical semiconductor chip.