GPS stands for Global Positioning System, a network of satellites orbiting Earth that helps people figure out exactly where they are. When you use GPS on a phone or in a car, you're receiving signals from multiple satellites in space. The GPS device calculates how long each signal took to arrive, and from that information, it determines your location: your latitude, longitude, and sometimes even altitude.

The U.S. military developed GPS in the 1970s and 1980s for navigation and targeting, but the government made it available for everyone to use in the 1990s. Before GPS, navigating unfamiliar places meant studying paper maps, asking for directions, or using landmarks. GPS transformed how people travel and navigate.

Today, GPS does far more than help drivers find restaurants or navigate to vacation destinations. Farmers use GPS to plant crops in very straight lines. Ships use it to cross oceans safely. Scientists use it to track animal migrations and measure tiny movements in Earth's crust that might signal earthquakes. Emergency responders use GPS to reach people who need help as quickly as possible.

When someone says “I'll GPS it,” they usually mean they'll use a GPS app on their phone to look up directions.