HTML
3 synonyms for HTML, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The language used to set out the content and structure of a web page — marking which parts are headings, paragraphs, lists, images, links and so on — using tags written around the text.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use HTML
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
HTML file
raw HTML
semantic HTML
HTML tag
HTML email
render HTML
Uncountable in general use ("some HTML"), countable when referring to files ("an HTML file"). Written in capitals.
Etymology
An initialism of hypertext markup language. It was devised by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN around 1990 as part of the original World Wide Web.
Full origin of HTML →Frequently asked questions
Is HTML a programming language?
No. HTML marks up content — it says "this is a heading, this is a link" — but it cannot make decisions, repeat actions or calculate anything. Programming logic on a web page comes from a language such as JavaScript.
What is the difference between HTML and XML?
HTML has a fixed set of tags with meanings a browser understands, and is designed for displaying documents to people. XML lets you define your own tags and is designed for carrying structured data between systems, with no built-in idea of how anything should look.
What is the difference between HTML and CSS?
HTML defines what is on the page and how it is organised; CSS defines how it is presented. Changing HTML changes the content, changing CSS changes the appearance.
