Hardware acceleration refers to the use of specialized computer hardware, such as graphics processing units (GPUs), to perform certain computing tasks more efficiently than general-purpose CPUs. By offloading demanding operations - like graphics rendering, video playback, or data encryption - to dedicated hardware, systems can achieve faster performance and smoother user experiences. This technique is commonly used in web browsers, gaming, and security applications to speed up processes that would otherwise slow down the computer if handled solely by the main processor.