HTTP Request
A message sent by a client to a server using HTTP to ask for data or an action.
Plain English
A browser app or tool sends a structured message telling a server what it wants.
In context
An HTTP request normally includes a method and URL plus optional headers query parameters and body data and is commonly inspected when building APIs or debugging network traffic.
Example
“The browser sends an HTTP request to the account endpoint when the page loads.”
When you'll hear this
- API development
- frontend and backend integration
- network debugging
Common misunderstanding
An HTTP request is the message sent to a server rather than the response returned by it and HTTP is not limited to REST APIs.
Also known as
HTTP callweb requestnetwork request
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-28
