# interface

Pronunciation: US say "IN-tur-fays" /ˈɪn(t)ɚˌfeɪs/; UK say "IN-tuh-fays" /ˈɪntəfeɪs/

## Noun

1. The connection through which a person interacts with a machine or computer.
   - Simple: The screen, buttons, or controls that let a person work with a machine.
   - _Designers spent months refining the interface so first-time users could navigate it easily._
   - _A well-designed interface hides technical complexity behind familiar buttons and icons._
2. The point of contact or connection between two things or groups.
   - Simple: The place where two things meet or touch.
   - _Customer service sits at the interface between a business and the people who buy from it._
   - _The skin forms the interface between the body and the outside world._
3. The point where two systems or subsystems connect and exchange data or signals.
   - Simple: The place where two systems join and pass information to each other.
   - _The satellite communicates with the ground station through a standardized interface._
   - _A clean interface between modules lets one team update its part without breaking the others._
4. The connection between parts of software, including the public sections of an object or module that other code may use.
   - Simple: The shared parts of a program that other code can connect to and use.
   - _Programmers interact with the module only through its published interface, never its private internals._
   - _A stable interface lets developers rewrite the underlying code without disturbing anything that depends on it._
5. A piece of code that defines a set of operations which other code is required to implement.
   - Simple: A piece of code that lists the actions other code must provide.
   - _A class that implements the interface must provide code for every method it declares._
   - _Defining a shared interface lets unrelated classes be used in the same way._
6. A thin layer or boundary between two different substances, or between two phases of the same substance.
   - Simple: The thin boundary where two different materials meet.
   - _Surface tension arises at the interface between a liquid and the air above it._
   - _At zero degrees Celsius, ice and water meet along a solid-liquid interface._
11. A block of code that declares the connection point between a class and the code that interacts with it.
   - Simple: A block of code that shows how a class and the code using it should connect.
   - _Each class ships with an interface that lists the methods other code may call._
   - _The compiler checks every call against the declared interface before linking._
12. The internal surface of a coiled protein.
   - Simple: The inner surface that lies inside a coiled protein.
   - _Hydrophobic residues cluster at the interface of the coiled protein, away from water._
   - _Mutations affecting the interface can stop the protein from folding correctly._

## Verb

7. To connect to a device or system through a shared point of connection so the two can work together.
   - Simple: To connect to a machine or system so they can work together.
   - _New devices must interface smoothly with existing equipment._
   - _The app interfaces with several payment systems at once._
8. To act or serve as a connecting point between two systems, groups, or things.
   - Simple: To act as the link between two things or groups.
   - _Front-desk staff interface between guests and the various hotel departments._
   - _The translation layer interfaces between the old database and the new application._
9. To build or construct a connecting point for a device, system, or program.
   - Simple: To build a connection point for a machine or program.
   - _Developers must interface each new sensor before it joins the network._
   - _The contractor interfaced the heating system with the building's controls._
10. To meet with others for discussion, especially in a business setting.
   - Simple: To meet and talk with other people, usually at work.
   - _Department heads interface every Monday to review progress._
   - _He interfaces with suppliers before finalizing any order._

## Origin

Formed from the prefix inter- ("between") combined with face ("shape, figure, form").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/interface (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).