A CNAME (Canonical Name) record is a type of DNS (Domain Name System) record that maps an alias or subdomain to the canonical (true) domain name of a website or server. In other words, a CNAME record allows you to create an alias for a domain name that already exists, and redirect all requests for that alias to the original domain.

For example, if you have a website with the domain name “example.com”, you can create a CNAME record for “blog.example.com” that points to the canonical name “www.example.com“. This means that when someone types “blog.example.com” into their web browser, they will be automatically redirected to “www.example.com“.

CNAME records are commonly used to point subdomains to other domains or services, such as email servers, file sharing services, or content delivery networks (CDNs). They are also useful for creating simple and easy-to-remember aliases for long or complicated domain names.