TPS
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Temporary Protected Status |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Technology & Computing, Business & Finance, Arts & Entertainment |
TPS has four meanings. The most common are Temporary Protected Status (public program) and Transactions per second (data & database); it can also stand for Toyota Production System and Third-person shooter.
Meanings of TPS at a glance
| # | TPS stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temporary Protected Status | Government & Politics › Public Program |
| 2 | Transactions per second | Technology & Computing › Data & Database |
| 3 | Toyota Production System | Business & Finance › Management & Strategy |
| 4 | Third-person shooter | Arts & Entertainment › Video Game |
1. Temporary Protected Status
Government & Politics · Public Program Abbreviations
Immigration status that lets nationals of designated countries stay and work in the United States temporarily because of armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions at home. The Homeland Security Secretary designates countries for periods of 6 to 18 months, which can be extended.
Example: His TPS work permit was extended through the end of next year.
TPS was created by the Immigration Act of 1990. Holders cannot be deported while their status is valid but do not receive a direct path to a green card. Some countries' designations have been renewed for decades. In 2025 the administration moved to end designations for several countries, prompting lawsuits.
2. Transactions per second
Technology & Computing · Data & Database Abbreviations
A throughput measure counting how many transactions a database, payment network or blockchain completes each second. Database benchmarks and cryptocurrency comparisons both quote it.
Example: The new database handled 40,000 TPS in the load test without breaching latency targets.
The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) publishes standard benchmarks for comparing databases. Bitcoin's base layer handles only single-digit transactions per second, one reason layer-2 networks exist, and throughput claims for other chains depend heavily on test conditions. In offices, the "TPS report" is a running joke from the 1999 film Office Space.
3. Toyota Production System
Business & Finance · Management & Strategy Abbreviations
Manufacturing approach developed at Toyota that aims to eliminate waste and produce only what is needed, when it is needed, through just-in-time production and jidoka (automation with a human touch). It is the foundation of what Western writers later called lean manufacturing.
Example: Our plant redesign borrows heavily from TPS, including kanban cards and andon cords at every station.
Developed mainly by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda from the late 1940s to the 1970s. The word "lean" came from the 1990 book The Machine That Changed the World by James Womack, Daniel Jones and Daniel Roos. The office joke about "TPS reports," from the 1999 film Office Space, is unrelated to Toyota.
4. Third-person shooter
Arts & Entertainment · Video Game Abbreviations
Shooting game in which the camera sits behind or over the shoulder of the player character, showing the character on screen. Gears of War, Fortnite and the Uncharted series use this view.
Example: The TPS camera makes it easier to use cover and see your surroundings.
Gears of War (2006) popularized cover-based third-person shooting. Many games offer both first- and third-person views. TPS also means "transaction processing system" and "throughput per second" in technology.
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