virtual memory

[ˈvɜːr.tʃu.əl ˈmem.ə.ri]
noun
memória virtual
1. A computer memory management technique that uses hardware and software to allow a computer to compensate for physical memory shortages by temporarily transferring data from RAM to disk storage
The operating system uses virtual memory to run applications that require more RAM than is physically available.
O sistema operacional usa memória virtual para executar aplicativos que exigem mais RAM do que está fisicamente disponível.
2. An abstraction of physical memory that allows programmers to write code as if they have access to a large, continuous address space
Virtual memory provides each process with its own isolated memory space.
A memória virtual fornece a cada processo seu próprio espaço de memória isolado.
Virtual memory is a fundamental concept in computer science taught universally. The English term 'virtual memory' is adopted directly in Portuguese technical terminology and is understood uniformly in both Brazil and Portugal in computing and IT contexts. It is rarely translated further and appears in documentation, textbooks, and professional environments in both countries.
Synonyms / Sinônimos
pagingmemory managementswap memory
Antonyms / Antônimos
physical memoryreal memoryRAM

Regional Variations

General Brazilian Portuguese
memória virtual
Standard term used in computing contexts across Brazil
Portugal
memória virtual
Same as Brazilian Portuguese; used in technical documentation and education
Technical/Academic
memória virtual
Consistent terminology across all Portuguese-speaking technical communities

Related Words

RAMswap filepage tablememory management unit (MMU)cache memorydisk storage

Related Idioms & Phrases

memory swapping
page fault
out-of-core processing
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →