message broker
compound.compound. a piece of software that helps different computer programs talk to each other by passing messages back and forth. It makes sure the information gets to the right place even if the programs use different languages.
compound. an intermediary software module that translates a message from the formal messaging protocol of the sender to the formal messaging protocol of the receiver. It decouples applications by managing the routing, transformation, and storage of data packets in distributed systems.
The message broker sends data between the two apps.
Our system uses a message broker to handle thousands of orders per second without crashing the main database.
By implementing a robust message broker, the engineering team ensured that the microservices architecture remained resilient, allowing asynchronous communication even during peak traffic spikes.
A compound of the Old French-derived 'message', denoting a communication sent through an intermediary, and 'broker', from the Anglo-French 'brocour', referring to a commercial agent or middleman. The term applies the traditional logic of trade mediation to the exchange of digital data.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly used in the context of microservices and distributed computing; often paired with verbs like 'deploy' or 'configure'.
Last updated July 22, 2026