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user interface

user interface

19 3.5
Part of a program on a screen that people use to control it
  • noun
  • /ˈjuːzər ˈɪntərˌfeɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : interfaz de usuario
  • Figure 3 illustrates the visual nature of the user interface - how the user communicates and interacts with the technology.
  • graphical user interface
  • intuitive user interface
  • simple user interface

It just didn't have a user interface that was accessible to most people.

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Examples

  • Every graphical user interface programme generally has at this heart an event processing, message processing loop.

  • The Iris 200 has an operating system with an intuitive graphic user interface, enabling easy data processing and transfer.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The majority of the user's interest was focused on the user interface.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Anyway, the point is that the gross user interface stuff is pretty clean.

  • Users were being asked to evaluate too many different features of the user interface and the robot in general.

    Academic text (2000)
  • They're trying to help us help the broad public with a better user interface and a better product offering.

  • Overly complex user interfaces in both hardware and software systems are common points of failure.

    Academic text (2011)
  • It just didn't have a user interface that was accessible to most people.

  • Software developers regularly update graphical user interfaces and enhance their data capture capabilities.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The new software has a user interface that is simple and easy to navigate, allowing users to find their desired features quickly.

Synonyms

interface
vsuser interface
  • Specialized
111 4.6

A screen or controls that let a person use a computer program

is narrower, focusing on visual controls for a person to operate a system

How Easy

graphical user interface
  • Specialized
2 4.0
user interface
  • Specialized
19 3.5
hierarchical menu
  • Specialized
6.2
command line interface
  • Specialized
1 6.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

user + interface

The meaning 'the means by which a user interacts with a system' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'user' (someone who uses a system) with 'interface' (a point of interaction). This is a compositional technical compound common across languages and everyday computing contexts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

User interface names the visible part of a computer where the user meets the machine: the screens, buttons and menus you see and touch. That idea of a 'meeting place' is why it means the parts of a program that let someone 'control' and 'talk to' the software.