Menu

A menu is a list from which the user may select an operation to be performed. This is often done with a mouse, trackpad, or other pointing device under a graphical user interface, but may also be controlled from the keyboard.

Description
Menus are very convenient for beginners because they show what commands are available and make experimentation with a new program easier, often reducing the need for user documentation. Experienced users however, often prefer keyboard commands, especially for frequently-used operations, because they are more efficient to use. In situations such as text entry where the keyboard must be used anyway, having to move your hand to the mouse to invoke a menu operation is slower.

There are many different ways of presenting menus, but the most common are the menu bar (with pull-down menus) and the contextual menu (with pop-up menus).

The term "menu" tends to be reserved for a list of actions or global options, whereas a "list box", palette, or other graphical widget may present other choices.