Yes, PHP is a server-side scripting language. This means that PHP code is executed on the web server, not in the user's browser. When a website visitor requests a page, the web server processes the PHP code and generates the HTML content (or other output formats) that is then sent back to the visitor's browser. The browser displays the resulting HTML, but it does not see or process the PHP code directly. This server-side processing enables dynamic content generation, database interactions, file operations, and other backend functionalities that client-side languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript cannot perform on their own.

"PHP servers" colloquially refer to web servers configured to execute PHP scripts, although PHP itself isn't a web server but a server-side scripting language. Web servers like Apache, Nginx, and IIS can process PHP files when they have PHP installed and are configured to pass these files to the PHP interpreter. This setup enables the server to execute PHP scripts, generating dynamic web content in response to user requests. The integration of PHP with a web server is crucial for developing dynamic websites and applications, with configurations varying between using PHP as an Apache module for direct execution or via FastCGI (with PHP-FPM) for a more secure and flexible handling of PHP processes.