All terms
Software that holds your keys and signs transactions. It does not hold your coins.
This word confuses almost everyone at the start. A wallet does not store your crypto. Your coins live on the blockchain. The wallet stores the private key that proves the coins are yours and lets you authorize moving them.
That distinction matters because it explains everything else. Lose the wallet app, no problem, reinstall it and restore from your seed phrase. Lose the seed phrase, and the coins are gone even though they still sit visibly on the chain forever.
Your MetaMask does not contain ETH. It contains a key. The ETH is a number in Ethereum's state that only that key can change.
That the wallet stores your coins. It stores keys. The coins are entries on the blockchain, which is why you can uninstall a wallet, lose the phone, and restore everything into a different wallet from your recovery words.
Common questions
Where are my coins if the wallet does not hold them?
Can I use the same wallet on more than one device?
Where to go next
More foundations terms
Want this explained out loud?
Some of these land faster in conversation than in writing. Sessions are one to one and you can ask anything, including the things that feel too obvious to ask.