application programming interface

noun

variants or less commonly application program interface

computing

: a set of rules that allows programmers to develop software for a particular operating system without having to be completely familiar with that operating system

To fix this problem, trustbusters have installed a provision forcing Microsoft to disclose more information about its so-called application programming interfaces, or APIs.

—Businessweek

—abbreviation API

Examples of application programming interface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Analyze 12-24 months of bank statements via application programming interface to assess true debt-to-income ratios and payment histories. — Efri Argaman, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Other positive signs include strong engagement trends both within the Gemini app and via application programming interface (API) usage on the part of enterprise customers. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 23 July 2026

Companies and organizations generally offer application programming interfaces (APIs) for swift and reliable information transfer. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 17 July 2026

Anthropic touted Claude’s ability to ship more than 800 application programming interface (API) error fixes in April, a task the company said would have taken a human four years to complete. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for application programming interface

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase