control panel
/kənˈtroʊl ˈpænəl/ · con·trol·pan·el
noun
- A flat surface or board that houses the switches, buttons, dials, or other controls used to operate a machine, system, or piece of equipment. The technician adjusted the temperature by turning a knob on the control panel of the furnace.
- A graphical user interface that allows a user to configure settings, monitor status, or manage functions of software or an operating system. She opened the control panel to change the display resolution and update the printer drivers.
Synonyms
Did you know? The term "control panel" was popularized by early aircraft designers in the 1920s, who called the array of gauges and switches in the cockpit an instrument panel, a usage that later migrated to industrial machinery and eventually to computer software.