The Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) is a specialized cache that stores recent translations of virtual memory addresses to their corresponding physical memory addresses. When a CPU accesses memory, it generates virtual addresses that need to be translated to physical addresses before accessing actual memory locations. The TLB caches these translations, allowing the CPU to quickly retrieve the corresponding physical addresses without needing to perform a full memory address translation process. This caching mechanism significantly speeds up memory access operations, making the TLB an essential component of modern computer systems.