An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development. It integrates various tools that programmers need to write, test, and debug their code. Typically, an IDE includes a code editor, a compiler or interpreter, a debugger, and build automation tools. IDEs help streamline the development process by offering features like code completion, syntax highlighting, error checking, and version control integration, making the programming experience more efficient and user-friendly.