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MX record

Webopedia Staff
Last Updated May 24, 2021 7:49 am
Short for mail exchange record, an entry in a domain name database that identifies the mail server that is responsible for handling e-mails for that domain name.

When more than one MX record is entered for any single domain name that is using more than one mail server, the MX record can be prioritized with a preference number that indicates the order in which the mail servers should be used. This enables the use of primary and backup mail servers.