SIMD (single instruction, multiple data)
Beginner
One command that does the same thing to a whole row of numbers at once.
Novice
A processor design where one instruction operates on a short vector of values at the same time, for example adding eight pairs of numbers in one step.
Expert
Vector width is exposed to software, which must pack data into vectors and handle divergence itself with masks. GPUs build SIMD datapaths but present them through the SIMT thread model.
Explained in SIMT and GPUs (Architectures).
See also: SIMT (single instruction, multiple threads).