rectified linear unit

noun

A unit (artificial neuron) in an artificial neural network that employs a rectifier.

Similar
ReLU
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Meanings

nounrectified linear unit (plural rectified linear units)

plural rectified linear units

  1. A unit (artificial neuron) in an artificial neural network that employs a rectifier.

    Synonyms: ReLU

  2. The rectifier function itself.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA unit (artificial neuron) in an artificial neural network that employs a rectifier.

Similar
ReLU

Origin

Coined by Vinod Nair and Geoffrey Hinton in 2010 after linear units used earlier. Displaced earlier term "analog threshold element" which hasn't caught on in 1969

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

rectified linear unit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectified%20linear%20unit

MLA

“rectified linear unit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectified%20linear%20unit. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rectified linear unit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rectified%20linear%20unit.

Source: rectified linear unit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.