user interface

noun

plural user interfaces

: software that is designed to allow a computer user to interact with the operating system of a machine or system (such as by selecting presented options or entering text commands)

Likewise, the user interface is remarkably unintuitive, requiring a whirlwind of relentless mouse clicking to move, talk, touch, look, or manipulate onscreen objects.

—Scott A. May

… a new user interface he vows will change the way people use computers.

—InfoWorld

especially : graphical user interface

—abbreviation UI

Examples of user interface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The transformation isn’t confined to user interfaces. —Massimo Marioni, Fortune, 24 June 2025

The user interface gets divided into separate sections that teams can independently maintain without overlapping work. —Raju Dandigam, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

The post has sparked wider conversation around the design of online educational tools, particularly the pitfalls of user interface design in early-learning programs. —Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025

Yet the company’s redesign was the result of a year of beta testing in markets around the world and changes to user interfaces always get met with some online backlash (whether YouTube, Spotify or Instagram). —James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for user interface

• asparaginase
• dehydrogenase
• lipoxygenase
• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase

Kids Definition

user interface

noun

: software that is designed to allow a computer user to interact with the operating system of a machine or system

especially : graphical user interface