计算机图形学中，精灵指包含于场景中的二维图像或动画。

随着1974年左右街机的兴起，其中的只读存储器使得精灵被广泛使用。TAITO发售了当年已知最早的一批使用精灵的电子游戏。

二十世纪七十年代中期，Signetics设计制造了第一款支持生成精灵图形的视频/图形处理器。

1977年发售的Atari VCS以其硬件精灵为卖点，支持五个图形对象同时在游戏场景中独立移动。

「精灵」一词首次作为图形术语出现，是在德州仪器的9918（A）视频显示处理器上。使用「精灵」作为术语，是因为精灵并不是帧缓冲中位图数据的一部分，而是「悬浮」于帧缓冲中的数据之上，没有对其中的数据产生影响，就像幽灵和精灵一样。

In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene.

Originally sprites referred to independent objects that are composited together, by hardware, with other elements such as a background. This occurs as each scan line is prepared for the video output device, such as a CRT, without involvement of the main CPU and without the need for a full-screen frame buffer. Sprites can be positioned or altered by setting attributes used during the hardware composition process. Examples of systems with hardware sprites include the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and many coin-operated arcade machines of the 1980s.