The acronym "DNS" stands for Domain Name System in networking. It is a hierarchical system that translates human-readable domain names, like www.example.com, into machine-readable IP addresses, enabling browsers to find and access resources on the Internet. This translation is essential for the functionality of the web, as it allows users to navigate websites without needing to remember numerical addresses. DNS also includes features like load balancing and redundancy, contributing to the stability and performance of online services.