Prompt
The input you give a model — instructions, context, examples, and question, all as text.
A prompt is everything the model sees for a request, not just your last sentence. It typically bundles a system prompt, conversation history, attached documents, and your actual ask. Understanding that the whole bundle is the input is the first step to controlling output.
In practice: ‘Rewrite this in 80 words for a non-technical reader’ is a prompt; ‘shorten’ is a wish.