BIOS

noun

ˈbī-ˌōs 

plural BIOSes

computers

: a software element of a computer operating system that allows the CPU to communicate with connected input and output devices (such as a keyboard or a monitor)

Your PC contains several BIOSes—the video BIOS that interfaces your CPU and video card, for example—but the most fundamental is the system BIOS.

—Neil Randall

Examples of BIOS in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Security features include physical access keys, a chassis intrusion switch, discrete TPM 2.0, and a self-healing BIOS. —PCMAG, 17 Feb. 2025

Secure Boot is built into the UEFI—short for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface—the successor to the BIOS that’s responsible for booting modern Windows and Linux devices. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2025

The investment bank expects the personal computer BIOS sector as a whole to grow at a 14% compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2030. —Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 15 July 2024

The company also worked with motherboard makers to release a string of BIOS updates to keep the problems from happening again. —Ars Technica, 19 Dec. 2024

The secretary and the office were cited for violating state information security rules, but no repercussions are expected. Catch up quick: The BIOS passwords to election equipment in 34 counties were posted online on June 21 but not discovered by the state until Oct. 24. —John Frank, Axios, 9 Dec. 2024

According to a release from the Colorado Republican Party, the spreadsheet contained more than 600 partial BIOS passwords for voting system components across 63 of Colorado's 64 counties. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

The results aren't quite as dramatic, but still measurable according to a source on Anandtech who was quick to test both old and new BIOS versions. —Antony Leather, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024

At this point, every motherboard maker should have BIOS updates out that can reduce the potential for your i9, i7, or K-series i5 desktop CPU to be permanently damaged. —Sean Hollister, The Verge, 30 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Basic Input/Output System

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

bios

noun

bi·​os ˈbī-ˌäs 

: a mixture of vitamins of the B complex essential for the optimum growth of some yeasts