Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A core communication protocol of the internet: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a fundamental set of rules that enables reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of a stream of data between applications running on hosts communicating via an IP network. It is one of the main protocols in the Internet protocol suite.

Usage

• Proper noun:
  • Transmission Control Protocol is often used alongside the Internet Protocol (IP), forming the basis of the internet (TCP/IP).
  • It is used to describe the reliable method of data transfer, contrasting with connectionless protocols like UDP (User Datagram Protocol).
  • The term is frequently abbreviated as TCP.

Examples

• Proper noun:
  • Web browsers use the Transmission Control Protocol to communicate with web servers.
  • For a file download to be error-free, the application likely relies on TCP.
  • The Transmission Control Protocol ensures that all data packets arrive and are reassembled in the correct order.

Advanced Usage

• "TCP connection": A reliable, stateful communication channel established between two network endpoints using the Transmission Control Protocol.
  • Establishing a TCP connection involves a three-way handshake.
• "TCP/IP stack": The suite of communication protocols used for the internet and similar networks, with TCP and IP being the most prominent.
  • Modern operating systems have a built-in TCP/IP stack.

Variants and Related Words

• TCP (n): The universal abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol.
  • The data was sent via TCP.
• TCP/IP (n): The combined term for the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol, representing the foundational suite for internet communication.
  • The TCP/IP model has four layers.

Synonyms

• Transport protocol: A general term for a protocol that provides host-to-host communication services, of which TCP is a specific, reliable type.

Related Concepts (Not Phrasal Verbs or Idioms)

• Three-way handshake: The process (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) used by TCP to establish a reliable connection.
• Flow control: A mechanism in TCP to prevent a fast sender from overwhelming a slow receiver.
• Congestion control: Algorithms in TCP to avoid network congestion by adjusting the data transmission rate.
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP): A core internet protocol that provides a connectionless, unreliable datagram service, often contrasted with TCP.

Noun

1. a protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device to another
   • TCP uses a retransmission strategy to insure that data will not be lost in transmission