Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

A method of accessing electronic mail or bulletin board messages that are kept on a (possibly shared) mail server. IMAP permits a “client” email program to access remote message stores as if they were local. For example, email stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages of files back and forth between these computers. IMAP can be regarded as the nextgeneration POP. A protocol used to transfer email messages from an email server to an email client.