What are variables in programming?

In a layman's definition, variables are content holders (Image 1). They can hold values (Numerical, Alphabetical, Objects, Functions, Memory addresses, etc). One unique characteristic of variables is that they are mutable.
Variables are stored in the computer memory (RAM - Random Access Memory). To have an in-depth understanding of how variables function, let us view a section of computer memory as a grid or checkerboard (image 2) where each cell represents a space that can take up a value.

Assumption: A variable points to each cell; that's a variable represents a cell.

Each cell is pointed out or identified with a unique number, and this number can be in binary, octal, decimal, or hexadecimal number system called memory addresses.

A memory address, often represented in hexadecimal, is a unique address given to each specific cell for easy identification in computer memory. Our computer knows where to extract values using these addresses.

Humans understand variable names, while computers understand memory addresses.