web browser

This term refers specifically to the client-side software that renders web pages, distinguishing it from a search engine, which is a website used to find other websites. Users often conflate the two, but a browser is the tool used to access the search engine.

In technical documentation, the term is frequently shortened to just browser when the context of the internet is already established. It is a neutral, technical term used across all registers, from casual conversation to professional software engineering specifications.