Define "inheritance" in terms of programming.

Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming that allows a new class, known as a derived or child class, to inherit attributes and methods from an existing class, referred to as the base or parent class. This mechanism promotes code reuse and establishes a natural hierarchy between classes. By inheriting properties, the child class can implement or override specific behaviors while maintaining the characteristics of the parent class, resulting in cleaner, more efficient code and a structured approach to building applications.

The concept facilitates polymorphism, enabling methods to be defined in the child class that can interact with the objects of the parent class seamlessly. Furthermore, inheritance allows developers to create more complex and tangible representations of real-world relationships in their code models, enhancing maintainability and scalability.

Understanding inheritance is crucial for effectively leveraging object-oriented programming paradigms, as it directly impacts how developers structure their code and design their applications.