Download

To download is computer jargon meaning to transfer information (usually one or more files) from a server to a client.

A transfer in the reverse direction is called an upload. As a noun, a download is the information transferred or the act of transferring it.

In normal usage, a file is typically uploaded once and subsequently downloaded many times by many clients.

In some circumstances, either machine might be considered the "server" or the "client". Generally, the server is the larger computer, to which many smaller clients connect. An exception is used when talking about data transfers between space vehicles and ground stations; in this case, every transfer from the space vehicle is a download, while every transfer to it is an upload.

In surfing the World Wide Web the term downloading usually is not used for simply bringing up a web page, but rather for transferring a larger file and/or directly saving it.