interface

American  

[in-ter-feys, in-ter-feys, in-ter-feys] / ˈɪn tərˌfeɪs, ˈɪn tərˌfeɪs, ˌɪn tərˈfeɪs /

noun

• interfaces
  plural

1. a surface regarded as the common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases.

2. the facts, problems, considerations, theories, practices, etc., shared by two or more disciplines, procedures, or fields of study.

   the interface between chemistry and physics.

3. a common boundary or interconnection between systems, equipment, concepts, or human beings.

4. communication or interaction.

   Interface between the parent company and its subsidiaries has never been better.

5. a thing or circumstance that enables separate and sometimes incompatible elements to coordinate effectively.

   The organization serves as an interface between the state government and the public.

6. computer hardware or software designed to communicate information between hardware devices, between software programs, between devices and programs, or between a device and a user.

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verb (used with object)

• interfaces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interfaced,
  past participle,  past
• interfacing
  present participle

1. to bring into an interface.

2. to bring together; connect or mesh.

   The management is interfacing several departments with an information service from overseas.

verb (used without object)

• interfaces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interfaced,
  past participle,  past
• interfacing
  present participle

1. to be in an interface.

2. to function as an interface.

3. to meet or communicate directly; interact, coordinate, synchronize, or harmonize (often followed bywith ).

   The two communications systems are able to interface with each other.

interface British  

/ ˌɪntəˈfeɪʃəl /

noun

1. chem a surface that forms the boundary between two bodies, liquids, or chemical phases

2. a common point or boundary between two things, subjects, etc

3. an electrical circuit linking one device, esp a computer, with another

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verb

1. (tr) to design or adapt the input and output configurations of (two electronic devices) so that they may work together compatibly

2. to be or become an interface (with)

3. to be or become interactive (with)

interface Scientific  

/ ĭn′tər-fās′ /

1. The point of interaction or communication between a computer and any other entity, such as a printer or human operator.

2. The layout of an application's graphic or textual controls in conjunction with the way the application responds to user activity.

3. See more at GUI

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interfacial
  adjective
• interfacially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• interfaces
  plural

Participles

• interfacing
  present
• interfaced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• interface
  simple
• interfaces
  simple
• have interfaced
  perfect
• has interfaced
  perfect
• am interfacing
  progressive
• are interfacing
  progressive
• is interfacing
  progressive
• have been interfacing
  perfect progressive
• has been interfacing
  perfect progressive

Past

• interfaced
  simple
• had interfaced
  perfect
• was interfacing
  progressive
• were interfacing
  progressive
• had been interfacing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will interface
  simple
• will have interfaced
  perfect
• will be interfacing
  progressive
• will have been interfacing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of interface

First recorded in 1880–85; inter- + face

Explanation

Think of an interface as a "face-to-face," a place where things, or people, or people and things (like you and your computer) meet. Any common boundary or area of convergence can be an interface. Used as a verb, interface means to merge or mingle, bonding and synthesizing by communicating and working together. The word interface is comprised of the prefix inter, which means "between," and face. In the 1960's, when computers first began to be commonly used, the word became familiar and now can simply mean “to meet.” Although "Shall we interface over coffee?" still feels a bit awkward.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interface interfaces interfaced interfacing

Apple rearranged the interface on the outer screen so it looks different than traditional iPhones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The three partners founded Hugging Face in New York, where Delangue was already living, with the aim of building a conversational AI interface -- a sort of forerunner of ChatGPT -- aimed primarily at teenagers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

The streamer is the latest to integrate a tab for vertical videos into its interface, following Netflix, Prime Video and more.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

The urban-wildland interface — where human development intermingles with wild places such as scrublands, grasslands and forests — is the fastest-growing land-use type in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

There was a computer interface there, which Citra used for her studies—because unlike Faraday, Scythe Curie did not shun the digital when it came to learning.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

The time we spend dealing with these automated interfaces isn’t only time away from real living, but it induces feelings of helplessness, frustration, and occasionally rage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

That’s because many companies leverage Google’s application programming interfaces so that they don’t have to develop their own expensive mapping software, and the Google APIs were displaying “Lake America.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

As transistors shrink toward the dimensions of individual atoms, those interfaces could become some of the most important parts of the devices themselves.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

On a recent Friday night, he was swiping through a tablet, showing four different interfaces of reservation apps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The only hints of modernization were a few simple computer interfaces in unobtrusive corners.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Even the Cylons changed their tune as they interfaced with the survivors more frequently, shifting their aim from destruction to occupation.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

So to suddenly have Guillermo show up, and that was the way that we really first interfaced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

Typically, a rigid material like silicon is chiseled down to the nanoscale, then interfaced with other components like metal electrodes and insulating layers to form an active device.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 9, 2023

The code is interfaced with online notices from ERCOT, triggering servers to power down during times of extreme energy shortages.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2021

He leaned toward them and said, “In object-oriented programming, discrete software objects interfaced more freely, in a system of corporate service provision that mirrored the emergent structures of late capitalism.”

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson

"You're obviously dealing with a surface that is interfacing with two very different environments," says Stengel.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

There’s also an interfacing rotary selector in the center console for your dialing convenience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

“At certain levels, we should worry about it because we don’t want to be interfacing with this virus,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

In our experience, seamless connecting and no cables cluttering the center console are reasons enough to insist on wireless smartphone interfacing.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 26, 2025

I mean, it’s sweet that he thinks I can keep up with his thoughts on the approaching technological singularity and human-machine interfacing, but yeah.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

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