---
schema: 1
type: term
title: multiply-and-accumulate (乘加运算)
description: >-
  Multiply-and-accumulate (乘加运算): the operation that multiplies two values and
  adds the product to a running sum, an accumulator; repeated in loops, it is
  the computational core of digital signal processing and neural-network
  inference, and hardware often fuses the multiply and add into single MAC
  units.
canonical: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/multiply-and-accumulate-5722eb8c501a
markdown: >-
  https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/multiply-and-accumulate-5722eb8c501a.md
llms: null
parent: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt'
channel: everyinc
updated: '2026-10-23T22:12:35.346Z'
language: null
children: []
---


# multiply-and-accumulate (乘加运算)

Canonical: https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/multiply-and-accumulate-5722eb8c501a

Parent: [Channel index](https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt)

## Definition

Multiply-and-accumulate (乘加运算): the operation that multiplies two values and adds the product to a running sum, an accumulator; repeated in loops, it is the computational core of digital signal processing and neural-network inference, and hardware often fuses the multiply and add into single MAC units.

**Multiply-and-accumulate (乘加运算)** names the operation that multiplies two numbers and adds the product to a running total — an accumulator. Repeated in a loop, it becomes the workhorse of computation: digital signal processing and neural-network inference are, at heart, long streams of these multiply-then-add steps, which is why hardware designers often fuse the two operations into single MAC units that execute both in one pass [^9a8d57d5-c4c1-5ff4-a785-15650f00fbac@115]. In this channel's captured material, the term surfaces in the live writing session WATCH ME WRITE LIVE WITH CHATGPT VOICE — a roughly two-hour stream in which research, drafting, metaphor-building, and editing blend into one flow while the writer drafts a long history of Codex with ChatGPT Voice [^9a8d57d5-c4c1-5ff4-a785-15650f00fbac@204].