Application Programming Interface (API) — A set of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other — acting as a bridge between systems so they can interact reliably. Think of an API like a waiter at a restaurant: you tell the waiter what you want, the waiter takes your request to the kitchen, gets what you need, and brings it back — you never have to go into the kitchen yourself.
See also: Integration, Webhook