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DNS stands for Domain Name System. Whether you realize it or not, you use the DNS every time you use the Internet.
Think of the DNS as the phonebook of the Internet. You know websites by their URL (ex: www.example.com). The Internet only knows websites by their numerical address (ex: 127.0.0.1). When you type a URL into your browser and hit the Enter button on your keyboard, your computer automatically uses the DNS to look up its numerical address and get you to the site you are trying to visit.
The Internet simply wouldn't work without the DNS. For most of us, remembering a numerical address for every website we visit would be hard. (Think about the challenge remembering a seven-digit phone number often presents if you don't write it down.) Because of the DNS, you don't have to remember the numerical address of websites.