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

Claude Cowork aims to bring Claude Code’s agentic capabilities to a broader audience by supplying it with a friendlier user interface and hiding some of the complexity that has made Claude Code daunting to the uninitiated. —Nikita Ostrovsky, Time, 15 Jan. 2026

At the time, most of our research focused on how people liked user interfaces in cars, navigation systems and similar features. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025

Xi says GoDaddy wants to be more certain about the user interface design and also more measured about a full deployment because of the potential impact on revenue. —John Kell, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2025

That’s because new hardware devices can use AI to create new user interfaces and features that aren’t possible with smartphones. —Kif Leswing, CNBC, 17 Dec. 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