A record
also: A record, address record
An A record is a DNS record that maps a domain name to its IPv4 address, enabling browsers and applications to find and connect to websites and services.
DNS (Domain Name System) uses A records to associate human-readable domain names with their corresponding IPv4 addresses. When you type a URL like example.com into your browser, the system queries DNS servers to find the A record, which contains the IP address where that domain's server is hosted.
For example, an A record for www.example.com might point to 192.0.2.1. The browser then uses this IP address to establish a connection to the web server.
A records are one of the most fundamental DNS record types. They differ from AAAA records, which map domain names to IPv6 addresses instead. You can view A records using tools like nslookup, dig, or host.