A table is a database object that you use to store data about a particular subject, such as employees or products. A table consists of records and fields.

Each record contains data about one instance of the table subject, such as a particular employee. A record is also commonly called a row or an instance.

Each field contains data about one aspect of the table subject, such as first name or e-mail address. A field is also commonly called a column or an attribute.

A record consists of field values, such as Contoso, Ltd. or someone@example.com. A field value is also commonly called a fact.

A database can contain many tables, each storing information about a different subject. Each table can contain many fields of different types of data, such as text, numbers, dates, and hyperlinks.