Database engine
UNDERLYING SOFTWARE COMPONENT THAT A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS) USES TO CREATE, READ, UPDATE AND DELETE (CRUD) DATA FROM A DATABASE
Storage engine; Storage engines
A database engine (or storage engine) is the underlying software component that a database management system (DBMS) uses to create, read, update and delete (CRUD) data from a database. Most database management systems include their own application programming interface (API) that allows the user to interact with their underlying engine without going through the user interface of the DBMS.