toolbar

In computer applications, this is the name of the strip of buttons you usually see at the top, bottom, or side of an application interface. The buttons activate tools. The idea is to help you work faster; if it weren't for toolbars, you'd have to spend more time figuring out which drop-down menu to select in order to find the option you want to use. A toolbar can be hidden, or it can be configured to appear with or without graphics (the pleasant little pictures on the buttons, such as scissors to denote the computer action "cut"). For example, this is what a computer toolbar looks like:

On the Web, toolbars are often used within Web browsers to perform certain functions such as searching or displaying content. A toolbar is not to be confused with the nav bar you may see in a Web browser (which also appears as little buttons). For example, this is what a Web toolbar looks like: