graphical user interface

American

noun

a software interface designed to standardize and simplify the use of computer programs, as by using a mouse to manipulate text and images on a display screen featuring icons, windows, and menus.

graphical user interface British

noun

GUI. an interface between a user and a computer system that involves the use of a mouse-controlled screen cursor to select options from menus, make choices with buttons, start programs by clicking icons, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

graphical user interface Scientific

/ grăf′ĭ-kəl /

See GUI

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Instead of the MS-DOS-like “command line” interface that the core app has, Cowork displays a more friendly, graphical user interface.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

The team have made their CNN accessible, providing a user-friendly graphical user interface that integrates targeted augmentation, streamlining the process into a comprehensive pipeline, from manual annotation to final proofreading.

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2023

He likened it to the oft-cited Steve Jobs Xerox plant breakthrough: In the late ’70s, Jobs may have noticed a graphical user interface being underutilized by Xerox and suggested applying it to the Macintosh.

From Slate • Oct. 20, 2023

It introduced the concept of a graphical user interface.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2023

Abbrev. for `Presentation Manager', an elephantine OS/2 graphical user interface.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023