Can you explain what the term 'bean definition' means in the context of Spring?

In the context of Spring, the term "bean definition" refers to the description of a component (bean) configuration managed by the Spring container. A bean definition contains information about the class from which the object is created, its properties, dependencies, lifecycle, and other parameters. These definitions can be specified in XML, using annotations, or Java configuration.

Example of a bean definition in XML:

<bean id="myService" class="com.example.MyService">
    <property name="repository" ref="myRepository"/>
</bean>

Thus, a bean definition is an instruction for Spring on how to create and configure objects in the application.