application programming interface

noun

variants or less commonly application program interface
computing
: a set of rules that allows programmers to develop software for a particular operating system without having to be completely familiar with that operating system
To fix this problem, trustbusters have installed a provision forcing Microsoft to disclose more information about its so-called application programming interfaces, or APIs.Business Week
abbreviation API

Examples of application programming interface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The tasks would extend to doing likewise about various infrastructure that supports the code, including assorted programming utilities, tools, operating system facets, API or application programming interfaces, and so on. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 One of these technologies is open application programming interfaces (APIs), which have already been a catalyst for transformation and growth in other industries by enabling seamless connections between different software systems. Eric Giesecke, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 Anticipating that this national policy would be insufficient to avoid local runs on pharmacies, the government (via its prestigious digital ministry) released an application programming interface (API) that provided real-time, location-specific data to the public on mask availability. Jaron Lanier, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2020 Eventually, Plaid began striking data-sharing agreements with banks and agreed to stop screen scraping once a bank developed its own application programming interface (API) that Plaid could plug into. Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for application programming interface 

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of application programming interface was in 1968

Dictionary Entries Near application programming interface

Cite this Entry

“Application programming interface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/application%20programming%20interface. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!