Service
A software capability exposed through a defined interface and operated for one or more consumers.
Plain English
A running software function that other parts of a system can use.
In context
A service has an ownership boundary interface runtime dependencies and operational expectations regardless of whether it is deployed alone or within a larger application.
Example
“The notification service accepts message requests through an internal API.”
When you'll hear this
- system design
- incident response
- ownership mapping
Common misunderstanding
A service is not necessarily a microservice public API or separately deployed process.
Also known as
software servicebackend service
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-27
