Overlays & Surfaces · Menus
Menu
also known as options menu
A menu is a set of choices presented as a list, letting users pick a command or navigate. It's the umbrella term covering dropdown menus, context menus, and flyouts. Menus can be always visible (like a menu bar) or revealed on demand (opened by a button or right-click).
See it live — shadcn/ui · MUI · Ant Design
Don't confuse it with
Menu is the general concept; dropdown menu, context menu, and flyout are specific ways of triggering and positioning one. A command palette is search-driven rather than a browsable list, so it's a distinct pattern despite showing commands.
In the wild
The File and Edit lists in a desktop app's menu bar are menus.