API means Application Programming Interface. It's mostly used in casual online conversation. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
API
Application Programming Interface.
/eɪ.piː.aɪ/Documented since 1960s1960sGen Xhistorical972 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~1968 · no dated citations yetBoomer / counterculture eraSee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
Firecrawl: API - Wikipedia
"Api.php" redirects here.
View source
Firecrawl: API:Action API - MediaWiki
For an overview of other APIs exposed by MediaWiki, see [API](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API "Special:MyLanguage/API")[API](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API "API").
View source
Firecrawl: API key - Wikipedia
# API key API key Identifier for authenticating with an API | | | | --- | --- | | [](https://en.wikipedia.…
View source
Definitions
Global
+1567100%
#1·Apr 23, 2026GlobalWork-OK
Application Programming Interface. A contract that lets one program talk to another — endpoints, parameters, responses. Modern APIs are typically HTTP + JSON.
"If they don't have a public API, scrape it."
Origin: Tech / AI / developer industry term.
For parents
API means Application Programming Interface. It's mostly used in casual online conversation. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
For ESL learners
"API" is slang. It means: Application Programming Interface. Register: casual. Use it in: casual conversation and online posts. Avoid in: formal writing and professional emails.
Cluster: technology
Heard in the wild
“"Api.php" redirects here.”
“For an overview of other APIs exposed by MediaWiki, see [API](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/API "Special:MyLanguage/API")[API](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API "API").”
“# API key API key Identifier for authenticating with an API | | | | --- | --- | | [](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg) | This article **needs additional citations for [verification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability "Wikipedia:Verifiability")**.”
Was this helpful?
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
Global
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "API".
⚡About Tech, Dev & AI slang
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "API" (A)
Browse all slang words starting with A.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- api coded52%
Describing a person, system, or interaction that feels like it was built on strict rules with no room for nuance or human messiness. Someone api-coded gives you exactly what you asked for — nothing more, nothing less — like a well-documented endpoint that returns the correct data but has no idea what you actually needed. Can be a compliment for reliability or shade for emotional unavailability. The vibe is technically correct but spiritually hollow. Common in tech Twitter and online discourse about people who seem to process the world through literal logic gates.
- MCP51%
Model Context Protocol — Anthropic's open standard for connecting LLMs to tools and data sources. Standardizes how an LLM can talk to databases, APIs, and local services.
- MCP50%
Model Context Protocol — Anthropic's open spec for letting LLMs talk to external tools and data sources via a uniform interface. The plumbing layer for agentic AI in 2025-2026.
- APT49%
(computing) : a high-level language for numerically controlled machine tools.
- copilot49%
An AI assistant embedded in a tool you already use — GitHub Copilot in your IDE, Microsoft Copilot in Office. The assistive, non-agentic cousin of modern AI agents.