10 min read

Glossary

Look up any term from this course. Each entry links back to the lesson that taught it.

Glossary of course terms
Term	Definition	Lesson
Box model	$The CSS model in which every element is a rectangular box made of four layers: the content, the padding around it, the border around that, and the margin outside the border.$	The Box Model
Cascade	$The rules CSS uses to decide which declaration wins: specificity, then source order, plus inheritance.$	How CSS Works
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)	$The language used to describe the presentation of HTML pages — colours, fonts, spacing, layout and how pages adapt to different screens.$	Introduction
CSS Grid	$A two-dimensional CSS layout method (display: grid) that places items into rows and columns defined on the container.$	CSS Grid: a Photo Gallery
CSS variable (custom property)	$A named value such as --gold: #D9962B, used with var(--gold) to keep a theme consistent.$	Colours and Backgrounds
External style sheet	$A separate .css file linked to pages with <link rel="stylesheet">, so one file styles the whole site.$	How CSS Works
Flexbox	$A CSS layout method (display: flex) that arranges a container's children in a row or column and controls how they grow, shrink, wrap, space out and align.$	Flexbox: a Row of Cards
Media query	$A CSS block, e.g. @media (max-width: 600px), whose rules apply only when a condition about the screen is true.$	Basic Responsive Design
Padding / margin	$Padding is space inside an element's border; margin is space outside it.$	The Box Model
Property and value	$A property is what to change (color); the value is how (#5A3825). Together: a declaration.$	How CSS Works
Pseudo-class	$A keyword added to a selector for a special state, such as :hover, :focus or :nth-child(even).$	Selectors
Responsive web design	$Designing web pages so their layout adapts to the size of the screen, using flexible widths, flexible images and media queries.$	Basic Responsive Design
Selector	$The part of a CSS rule that chooses which elements to style, e.g. p, .price, #credits, nav a.$	Selectors
Specificity	$How specific a selector is; inline styles beat ids, which beat classes, which beat element selectors.$	Selectors
Transition	$A CSS property that animates a change between two states over time, e.g. transition: background-color 0.2s.$	Hover Effects and Transitions