"Hardware acceleration" refers to the use of specialized hardware to perform certain computational tasks more efficiently than software running on a general-purpose processor. This technology optimizes performance by offloading specific tasks, such as graphics rendering or video processing, to dedicated hardware components like GPUs or FPGAs. As a result, applications, especially in fields like gaming and machine learning, can operate faster and with lower latency. By leveraging hardware capabilities, systems can achieve better energy efficiency and higher throughput.