tensor

noun

ten·​sor ˈten(t)-sər  ˈten-ˌsȯr 

1

: a muscle that stretches a part

2

: a generalized vector with more than three components each of which is a function of the coordinates of an arbitrary point in space of an appropriate number of dimensions

Examples of tensor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, Dries Sels and colleagues at New York University performed similar calculations on a regular laptop using tensor networks – which reduce the amount of data and hence energy needed to perform simulations, reported New Scientist. —Peter Cohan, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025

Reasoning LLMs essentially prompt themselves to reason through a problem, which in turn generates more tokens and keeps expensive hardware (such as GPUs or tensor processing units) occupied. —IEEE Spectrum, 5 Mar. 2025

This mirrors Nvidia's strategy with DLSS, which has always leveraged the tensor cores found in RTX GPUs to run machine-learning models to achieve superior image quality for upscaled and AI-generated frames. —Ars Technica, 28 Feb. 2025

The study authors used a mathematical tool called tensor networks that can be used to simulate a quantum system. —Katie Hunt, CNN, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Latin tendere "to extend outward, stretch, draw tight" + -tor, agent suffix — more at tender entry 3

First Known Use

circa 1704, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tensor

• censer
• censor
• denser
• fencer
• sensor
• biosensor
• condenser
• dispenser
• extensor

Kids Definition

tensor

noun

ten·​sor ˈten(t)-sər  ˈten-ˌsȯ(ə)r 

: a muscle that stretches a part

Medical Definition

tensor

noun

ten·​sor ˈten(t)-sər  ˈten-ˌsȯ(ə)r 

: a muscle that stretches a part or makes it tense

called also tensor muscle