1. A visually distinct mark on a display indicating where newly typed text will be inserted. The cursor moves as text is typed and, in most modern edITors, can be moved around wIThin a document by the user to change the insertion point. 2. In SQL, a named control structure used by an application program to point to a row of data. The posITion of the row is wIThin a table or view, and the cursor is used interactively so select rows from columns. (1996-12-27)