Various Definitions of a Class
(from a number of websites around the Internet)

1. A class is a blueprint or prototype from which objects are created
   - From java.sun.com
   
   
2. A class is a template that defines what attributes an object can have. Analogy: Cookie cutter and cookies. A cookie cutter is like a class definition. It isn't a cookie, but can be used to create a cookie. Each cookie can will have the same attributes (shape), but each cookie can have different values for the attributes (type of dough, thickness, ...).
   - From leepoint.net
   
   
3. Think of a class as a cookie cutter and an instance as a actual cookie. You use the cookie cutter to stamp the cookie out. With classes, stamping out the class instances is called instantiation.
   - From Python Programming with the Java Class Libraries
   
   
4. Classes are used to create objects, just like cookie cutters are used to create cookies. After an object is made, it keeps a basic "outline" of what it is, but you can make simple modifications too it. After a cookie is made, it keeps it's same shape, but you can add frosting to it.
   - From RobKeplin.com
   
   
5. A class is like a mold or cookie cutter: cookies are made with a cookie cutter in the same way that objects are made from a class. The class (cookie cutter) defines what the objects (cookies) look like.
   - From coderanch.com
   
   
6. The relationship between a class and an object or instance is rather like that of a cookie cutter and cookies. Like a cookie cutter, a class is a shape, with which creates many individual objects.
   - From www.cse.lehigh.edu