The Higgs field is a fundamental field in physics that permeates the entire universe. It is associated with the Higgs boson, a particle discovered in 2012, which helps explain how other particles acquire mass. When particles interact with the Higgs field, they gain mass, allowing them to form atoms and, ultimately, matter. This field is crucial for the Standard Model of particle physics, which describes the fundamental forces and particles in the universe. Without the Higgs field, particles would remain massless, and the universe as we know it, including stars, planets, and life, would not exist.