Definition: TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) is a suite of protocols which make up the basic framework for communication on the Internet.
The first part, TCP, helps to control how the larger data is broken down into smaller pieces or packets for transmission. TCP handles reassembling the packets at the destination end and performing error-checking to ensure all of the packets arrived properly and were reassembled in the correct sequence.
IP is used to route the packets to the appropriate destination. It is the IP protocol which manages the addressing of the packets and it is the IP prototocl which tells each router or gateway on the path how and where to forward the packet to direct it to its proper destination.
Other protocols associated with the TCP/IP suite are UDP and ICMP.
Also Known As: Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol