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JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a computer term for a common file format used to store and transmit digital images, especially photographs. It uses a type of compression called lossy compression, which reduces file size by discarding some data, but in doing so, it maintains a good balance between image quality and a manageable file size, making it ideal for web use and digital photography.

What it stands for: The name comes from the Joint Photographic Experts Group, the committee that created the standard.

Compression: JPEGs use lossy compression, which means some image data is removed to shrink the file size. This makes JPEGs significantly smaller than uncompressed formats.

Quality: The amount of compression can be adjusted. You can save a JPEG at a high quality for printing or a lower quality for smaller file sizes, like for email attachments.

Usage: It's a popular format for photos because it can compress high-quality images into a shareable file size.

Extension: The file extension is often .jpg, which was originally used because older operating systems had a three-letter limit for file extensions, but .jpeg and .jpg files are identical.