address bus

noun

computers

: an element in a computer CPU that transmits the location of stored information

The address bus allows the CPU to send the address to RAM, and the data bus allows the actual data transfer to the CPU. The term bus itself refers to the connection between the two devices that allows them to communicate.

—Neil Randall, PC Magazine, 21 Oct. 1997

Note: When a user or program needs information that is stored in a computer's memory, the address bus tells the computer where to look for it.

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

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