title: Difference between an instruction and a micro-op
body: <p>What is the difference between a machine instruction and a micro-op? I found a following definition <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Micro-op" rel="noreferrer">here</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>A small, basic instruction, used in series to make up a high-level
    machine instruction</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Here is what I found on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro-operation" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a></p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>In computer central processing units, micro-operations (also known as
    a micro-ops or μops) are detailed low-level instructions used in some
    designs to implement complex machine instructions (sometimes termed
    macro-instructions in this context)</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Am I correct in understanding that micro-op is a processor instruction that executes in a given cycle. Say like and ADD, SUB, MUL, ST, LD. Am I missing something?</p>
  
  <p>Any help is appreciated.</p>