interface

noun

in·ter·face | \ ˈin-tər-ˌfās

Definition of interface

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a surface forming a common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases an oil-water interface

2a : 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

interface

verb

interfaced; interfacing; interfaces

Definition of interface (Entry 2 of 2)

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

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Examples of interface in a Sentence

Noun

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.

Verb

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In Hoffman’s view, evolution has shaped our brains to operate in much the same way, as a graphical interface that doesn’t reproduce the world with any sort of fidelity. — Tim Folger, Discover Magazine, "How Quantum Mechanics Lets Us See, Smell and Touch," 24 Oct. 2018 In practice, this builds on Volvo’s existing operating system (called Sensus), which is already among the more intuitive interfaces on the market. — Alexander George, Popular Mechanics, "Volvo’s Polestar 2 Is an Electric Car Controlled by Google," 23 Jan. 2019 The software has a fairly minimal impact on system resources, and the interface is pretty straightforward with some solid features beyond antivirus such as file encryption, file shredding, and the True Key password manager. — Ian Paul, PCWorld, "Protect up to five PCs with McAfee Total Protection for just $20 today," 25 Oct. 2018 But the interface is still awful: With every heartbeat, the brain, which has the consistency of pudding, moves in the skull. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "The Heroes of Science Who Are Unlocking the Brain," 3 Oct. 2018 The trip provides one of the sharpest interfaces from urban to rural in the Bay Area. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Sunday getaway to Samuel P. Taylor State Park," 8 July 2018 Its move into displays has the long-term potential to hurt a range of suppliers, from screen makers like Samsung Electronics Co., Japan Display, Sharp Corp. and LG Display Co. to companies like Synaptics Inc. that produce chip-screen interfaces. — Mark Gurman, Houston Chronicle, "Apple is said to develop displays to replace Samsung screens," 19 Mar. 2018 The company is also teaming up with Texas Instruments to produce interfaces for consumer electronics, appliances computers, digital signage, cars and robotics. — John Scott Lewinski, Popular Mechanics, "Softkinetics, the Other Motion-Control Software Company," 29 June 2010 Waymo will be able to experiment with different user interfaces and different driving styles. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Waymo’s excruciatingly gradual launch process, explained," 31 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Smart city technologies, such as advanced traffic management systems that interface with autonomous vehicles, will likely be layered upon existing streets, Amici said. — Pam Baker, Ars Technica, "Where we’re going, we won’t need windows: How autonomy will change cars," 5 Dec. 2018 The bottom screen is the only way to interface with the climate-control system. — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, "All SUV, all of the time: The Range Rover Sport reviewed," 12 July 2018 The goal here is to provide the locals a place to stock up without having to interface with the tourists padding around above. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Two Very Big Reasons You Should Do Your Holiday Shopping in Midtown Manhattan," 20 Nov. 2018 And so Anikeeva became determined to design flexible fibers that could interface with the nervous system without damaging it, transmitting signals to reconnect nerves or stimulate neurons. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "The Heroes of Science Who Are Unlocking the Brain," 3 Oct. 2018 Its ride-sharing platform could be used on its own or be tailored to interface with a partner, one person said. — Mark Bergen And Noah Buhayar, latimes.com, "GM puts pieces in place for self-driving taxis in San Francisco," 3 July 2018 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

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.

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Dictionary Entries near interface

Statistics for interface

Last Updated

20 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for interface

The first known use of interface was in 1882

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More Definitions for interface

interface

noun

English Language Learners Definition of interface

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

interface

verb

English Language Learners Definition of interface (Entry 2 of 2)

: to connect or become connected : to connect by means of an interface

See the full definition for interface in the English Language Learners Dictionary

interface

noun

in·ter·face | \ ˈint-ər-ˌfās

Medical Definition of interface

: a surface forming a common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases interfaces between various tissues such as skin, fatty tissue, and muscle— H. P. Schwan

Other Words from interface

interface transitive verb interfaced; interfacing

interfacial \ ˌint-ər-ˈfā-shəl

\ adjective

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