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Software Engineering vocabulary · Machine Learning and Data Processing

LLM

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˌel el ˈem/abbreviationCore term

In software engineering, LLM means: Short for large language model: a very large neural network trained on huge amounts of text to predict the next token, which lets it answer questions, write, summarize and code.

In Turkish: büyük dil modeli

How it is used

Much more common than the full form in everyday talk. Engineers call an LLM through an API, host an open model themselves or build 'LLM apps'. The plural is LLMs, and you say 'an LLM' because the letter L starts with a vowel sound.

Example sentences

  1. We use an LLM to draft replies, and a team member approves each one before it goes out.

  2. Open-weight LLMs have become good enough for most of our internal tasks.

Common collocations

  • call an LLM
  • open-weight LLM
  • LLM application
  • LLM provider
  • fine-tune an LLM
  • tokenA string of characters that proves a user or app has already logged in or has permission. It is sent with each request instead of a password.
  • promptThe text or other input given to a generative model to tell it what to do, such as a question, an instruction or a few examples followed by a task.
  • transformerA neural network architecture, introduced in 2017, that uses attention to process all parts of a sequence in parallel. It is the basis of today's LLMs.
  • hallucinationA confident but false or made-up output from a generative model, such as an invented fact, quote, source or piece of code.
  • context windowThe maximum amount of text, measured in tokens, that a language model can take into account at once, including the prompt, any documents and its own answer.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Machine Learning and Data Processing

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