What does the internet protocol TCP stand for?

TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol.

TCP is a transport-layer protocol that provides reliable, ordered delivery of data between applications communicating across an IP network. It divides a stream into segments, numbers them, and uses acknowledgements and retransmission to handle lost data.

TCP begins a connection with a three-way handshake and manages congestion so senders do not overwhelm the network. It is used by many familiar internet services, including web traffic, email, and file transfers, although newer applications may choose UDP or other protocols instead.

TCP and IP are separate protocols commonly used together in the Internet protocol suite. IP handles addressing and forwarding packets between networks, while TCP handles the reliable byte stream between endpoints. The phrase “TCP/IP” therefore names a protocol family, not one single protocol.