Say it like this

Computers talking to other computers. All of them, all over the world, all the time.

For the grown-up

The internet is a global network of connected computers that exchange data by agreed rules. Messages are broken into pieces, sent independently, and reassembled at the far end. The network is the roads, not the vehicles and not the buildings.

The easy mistake

Careful here. The internet is not inside the phone, and it is not the same thing as a website or a browser. Those three get collapsed into one constantly, which is why none of them can be explained until they are pulled apart.

The full explanation

What Is the Internet?

A glossary entry is the short version. This one has the child explanation, the grown-up explanation, the questions and an activity.

Read it

Words next to this one

Website A place on the internet where somebody keeps their things so other people can come and look. Server A computer whose whole job is holding things and handing them over when somebody asks. Browser The window you look at websites through. It goes and fetches the page, then shows it to you. Network A group of things connected together so they can pass messages to each other. Search Engine A helper that already went and looked at nearly everything, so it can tell you where to go.