Token
Definition
The basic unit of text that an AI model processes. A token is roughly three-quarters of a word in English. "Hamburger" is one token. "I love hamburgers" is about four tokens. AI tools charge by the token and measure context windows in tokens. When you hit a limit, it's usually a token limit.
Why It Matters
Understanding tokens helps you understand pricing, context window limits, and why very long documents sometimes get cut off.
What does that look like in practice?
I love hamburgers' is about four tokens, the small chunks of text an AI counts as it works.
What people actually mean when they say this
When someone says 'it ran out of tokens,' they mean the text hit the tool's limit, not that they ran out of money or credits.
Last reviewed: March 2026
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