A library that maps database tables to code objects, letting you query and manipulate data using the language's own constructs instead of writing raw SQL.
Example: Prisma, Hibernate, ActiveRecord — write `User.findMany({ where: { active: true } })` instead of a SELECT statement.
In practice: ORMs dramatically reduce boilerplate for simple queries, but can generate terrible SQL for complex ones — knowing when to drop into raw SQL is part of using an ORM well, not a failure of it.