What does "tooltip" mean?

An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.

What is a synonym for "tooltip"?

Common synonyms include: infotip.

Tooltip

//ˈtu(ː)l.tɪp// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
An element of a graphical user interface in the form of a box of text that appears when a cursor is made to hover over an item; normally used to explain the function of the item.

Synonyms

All synonyms

infotip

Etymology

From tool + tip, originally used with toolbars to provide a tip or hint as to what function each graphical icon represented. The term was introduced as ToolTip by Microsoft in the 1990s.

Related phrases

graphical user interface

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.