virtual memory

Meaning

A memory management technique that provides an idealized abstraction of the storage resources which are actually available on a given machine, creating the illusion of a larger main memory than physically exists.

Examples

• The operating system automatically manages virtual memory to ensure that resource-heavy applications do not crash the system.
• If you notice your computer slowing down, it might be because the system is swapping data between the RAM and the virtual memory on your drive.