CPU core
compound.compound. one of the small processing units inside a computer's main chip. Having more of these allows your computer to do several tasks at the same time without slowing down.
compound. an independent processing unit within a central processing unit (CPU) that can execute instructions and perform calculations. Modern processors typically contain multiple cores to facilitate parallel processing and improve multitasking performance.
When you run multiple heavy applications at once, the operating system distributes the workload across each available CPU core.
While clock speed was once the primary measure of performance, the number of CPU cores is now equally critical for software designed to handle concurrent execution threads.
A compound of the initialism CPU, standing for Central Processing Unit, and the noun core. The latter derives from the Old French cor, meaning heart, used here to denote the functional centre of a larger structure.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often used in the plural when discussing hardware specifications.
Last updated July 22, 2026