The basic protocol of the Internet. It enables the unreliable delivery of individual packets from one host to another. It makes no guarantees about whether or not the packet will be delivered, how long it will take, or if multiple packets will arrive in the order they were sent. Protocols buil on top of this add the notions of connection and reliability.
Acronym for Internet Protocol. The protocol within TCP/IP that governs the breakup of data messages into packets, the routing of the packets from sender to destination network and station, and the reassembly of the packets into the original data messages at the destination. IP runs at the internetwork layer in the TCP/IP model—equivalent to the network layer in the ISO/OSI reference model. See also ISO/OSI reference model, TCP/IP. Compare TCP.

1 initial point
2 innings pitched
3 intermediate pressure
4 Internet protocol