From Andrew Zimmerman Jones,
Your Guide to Physics.
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Definition: The Higgs boson is a theoretical particle that is part of the Standard Model of quantum physics.

In the Standard Model, space consists of the Higgs field, with a non-zero value in all space. There are two neutral and two charged components to the field. One of the neutral and both of the charged components combine to create the W & Z bosons, which create the weak force, one of the fundamental forces of physics.

The remaining neutral charge creates the scalar Higgs boson, which has neither charge nor spin (thus causing it to follow Bose-Einstein statistics). This is crucial in using the Standard Model to explain where mass comes from.

As of the time of writing (January 2007), the Higgs boson is the only Standard Model particle has not been observed experimentally. Recent findings on the mass of the W boson, however, have helped narrow down the energy levels at which it would exist. The current bounds of the Higgs boson predict that it will have a mass somewhere between 114 GeV and 153 GeV.

The Higgs boson was first theorized in 1964 by the British physicist Peter Higgs, who expanded on the ideas of American theoretical physicist Phillip Anderson.