interface

noun in·ter·face \ ˈin-tər-ˌfās \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: interface in a Sentence

1 : a surface forming a common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases

an oil-water interface

2 a : the place at which independent and often unrelated systems meet and act on or communicate with each other

the man-machine interface

b : the means by which interaction or communication is achieved at an interface

—

interfacial

play \ˌin-tər-ˈfā-shəl\ adjective

See interface defined for English-language learners

See interface defined for kids

Examples of interface in a Sentence

the interface between engineering and science
The software has a user interface that's easy to operate.
We installed an interface between the computer and the typesetting machine.

Recent Examples of interface from the Web

The company stands for minimalism; a distraction-free interface fits well with the Apple ethos.

— arielle pardes, WIRED, "Tech Addiction and the Paradox of Apple's 'Screen Time' Tools," 5 June 2018
The bears are so close to people because of the expansion of what is known as the human-wildland interface, where developed land and wildlands meet.

— Anchorage Daily News, "As winter warms, bears can’t sleep. And they’re getting into trouble.," 5 May 2018
This includes the public relations firm Grayling Communications, which used the interface to create three Facebook apps for Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., the hotel group, according to the Apply Magic Sauce website.

— Fortune, "Mark Zuckerberg Picks a Fight With England's Elite Cambridge University," 13 Apr. 2018
The image above shows an interface for what appears to be a turbine in an electrical-generation facility.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "Why Russian hackers aren’t poised to plunge the United States into darkness," 16 Mar. 2018
Briggs said, ticking off changing interfaces: Point and click.

— lini s. kadaba, Philly.com, "The business tech trends you need to watch in 2018," 14 Mar. 2018
The office for students combs through complaints from consumers, interfaces with state attorneys general and talks to consumer rights organizations to identify problems in education lending and servicing.

— danielle douglas-gabriel, Washington Post, "Federal consumer watchdog downplays changes to its student protection unit," 10 May 2018
To have a solely indoor, internally focused venue with little to no interface with the broader work-play Entertainment District seems to run contrary to the overall connective design interest of The Banks,'' the letter reads.

— randy tucker, Cincinnati.com, "Key players insist new Banks' concert venue must have outdoor seating; officials expected to pick finalist soon," 26 Apr. 2018
How would people talk about and interface with BlackBerry now?

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: BlackBerry CEO John Chen on Recode Decode," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interface.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of interface

1882

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

interface

verb

interfaced; interfacing; interfaces

transitive verb

1 : to connect by means of an interface

interface a machine with a computer

2 : to serve as an interface for

intransitive verb

1 : to become interfaced

2 : to interact or coordinate harmoniously

See interface defined for English-language learners

Examples of interface in a Sentence

interface a machine with a computer
the point at which the two machines interface

Recent Examples of interface from the Web

From infancy, citizens live every moment of their waking lives with a heads-up display laid over their vision, offering information, data, and ways to remotely interface with the physical world.

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "Netflix’s Anon is an augmented reality neo-noir nightmare," 4 May 2018
Autonomous-car industry analysts say the needs of disabled people are being discussed as designers figure out how users will interface with the cars, but there are many competing demands.

— jason dearen, The Christian Science Monitor, "Researchers develop autonomous vehicles to help the blind," 13 Apr. 2018
Reservation, warranty, and warehousing systems had to interface with services running on mainframes, some running software that was decades old.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "The Dot-Coms Were Better Than Facebook," 13 Apr. 2018
If everything the brain does to interact with the world involves muscles, why not use the motor system to more directly interface mind and machine?

— r. douglas fields, Scientific American, "Wristband Lets the Brain Control a Computer with a Thought and a Twitch," 27 Mar. 2018
Granted, there was some other tech in the case, specifically the parts that let those batteries interface with the device, but not some $660 worth.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Teardown of a $700 Battery Finds Staggeringly Little Inside," 22 Feb. 2016
Neurofeedback is used to train the brain and computer to interface with each other.

— r. douglas fields, Scientific American, "Wristband Lets the Brain Control a Computer with a Thought and a Twitch," 27 Mar. 2018
Speaking of goals, a special version of this watch will actually be worn by the referees at this year’s World Cup to interface with the goal-line technology.

— paul miller, The Verge, "World Cup referees will use Hublot’s new Wear OS watch to check for goals," 21 Mar. 2018
The company is still figuring out answers to a nagging question: How will the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott International loyalty programs interface with the cruise line?

— sara clemence, chicagotribune.com, "Ritz-Carlton is fixing everything you hate about cruise ships," 7 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of interface

1962

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

INTERFACE Defined for English Language Learners

interface

noun

: the place or area at which different things meet and communicate with or affect each other
: a system that is used for operating a computer : a system that controls the way information is shown to a computer user and the way the user is able to work with the computer
: an area or system through which one machine is connected to another machine