graphical user interface

noun

plural graphical user interfaces
: a user interface that allows a computer user to interact easily with the computer typically by making choices from displayed menus or groups of icons
… how quickly the software companies can write new applications, or new versions of old applications, to take advantage of windows, icons, menus and mice, the principal elements of the graphical user interface.Peter H. Lewis

Examples of graphical user interface in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Harrison compares it to the days of command-line computing and the shift to the graphical user interface (GUI) in the ‘80s and ’90s. Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 9 June 2025 Indeed, MacPaint was the key app demonstrated at the Mac launch that showed us the potential of the Mac and a graphical user interface. Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025 Windows 95 represented a dramatically different way to interact with a PC, by encompassing the majority of programs and tasks inside a graphical user interface (GUI). Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Apr. 2025 Using VirtualBox’s unattended install feature (the default setting), Oracle Linux installs itself as a command-line-only system with no graphical user interface (GUI). Edward Mendelson, PCMAG, 6 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for graphical user interface

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of graphical user interface was in 1981

Browse Nearby Words

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Graphical user interface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/graphical%20user%20interface. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

graphical user interface

noun
: software that simplifies the use of a computer especially by using icons and menus

More from Merriam-Webster on graphical user interface

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!