What is Token?
Token is an inference-time concept in large language model systems. It is part of the vocabulary teams use when they compare models, design prompts or review an AI system.
Definition
Token is an inference-time concept in large language model systems. It is part of the vocabulary teams use when they compare models, design prompts or review an AI system. The term is used in inference discussions, where precision matters: two teams can use the same word to mean slightly different things. In this glossary, token is treated as a practical concept rather than a formal specification.
Why it matters
Inference terms describe how a trained model turns a prompt into output: how tokens are sampled, cached and streamed. They drive latency, cost and the consistency of responses in production.
Example
Suppose you are comparing Yi-Large 8B with another model for a production task. Token is one of the factors behind the numbers you see: Yi-Large 8B lists a 32,768-token context window, costs $0.88 per million input tokens and scores 43.8 on AIME 2025. Understanding the term helps you decide which of those differences actually matter for your workload.
How to evaluate it
- Check whether token is defined the same way in the documentation you are reading.
- Ask which measurement or trade-off the term is describing before comparing numbers.
- Separate vendor claims from independently observed behaviour on your own data.
- Write down the definition your team uses so reviews and evaluations stay consistent.
Related terms
Related guides
FAQ
What does Token mean?
Token is an inference-time concept in large language model systems. It is part of the vocabulary teams use when they compare models, design prompts or review an AI system.
Why does Token matter?
Inference terms describe how a trained model turns a prompt into output: how tokens are sampled, cached and streamed. They drive latency, cost and the consistency of responses in production.
How is Token used in practice?
Suppose you are comparing Yi-Large 8B with another model for a production task. Token is one of the factors behind the numbers you see: Yi-Large 8B lists a 32,768-token context window, costs $0.88 per million input tokens and scores 43.8 on AIME 2025. Understanding the term helps you decide which of those differences actually matter for your workload.