graphical user interface

noun

plural graphical user interfaces
: a user interface that allows a computer user to interact easily with the computer typically by making choices from displayed menus or groups of icons
… how quickly the software companies can write new applications, or new versions of old applications, to take advantage of windows, icons, menus and mice, the principal elements of the graphical user interface.Peter H. Lewis

Examples of graphical user interface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Xerox is widely credited with developing the first graphical user interface in the 1970s. Laura Bratton, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 The Mac brought us into the era of graphical user interfaces that allowed new types of apps, such as desktop publishing, multimedia computing, etc. Tim Bajarin, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 To open the media source, an operator can use the graphical user interface or place a text QR code in front of a webcam. IEEE Spectrum, 2 Feb. 2024 Its biggest innovation was the shift from command-line interfaces to the graphical user interface and mouse. David Meyer, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2024 That early codebase also included graphical user interfaces for PCs and phones, further driving home that this was a consumer OS. Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2023 The Macintosh was not the first computer to have a graphical user interface or employ the desktop metaphor: icons, files, folders, windows and so on. Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Jan. 2024 The first version kicked off a revolution in human-computer interaction by popularizing the graphical user interface in a compelling package. Steven Levy, WIRED, 19 Jan. 2024 The Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in California has spawned many pioneering computer technologies including the Alto—the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface—and the first laser printer. IEEE Spectrum, 16 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'graphical user interface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of graphical user interface was in 1981

Dictionary Entries Near graphical user interface

Cite this Entry

“Graphical user interface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/graphical%20user%20interface. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

graphical user interface

noun
: software that simplifies the use of a computer especially by using icons and menus

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