What is the Snipping Tool in Windows 7?

One of the tools in Windows 7 that I use the most is the Snipping Tool.  This allows me to grab something that I have on the screen and place it into a word document or save it to a file for later use.  Before Windows 7 (I skipped Vista), I had to use a third party program to do this (SnagIt).  Now this tool is built into windows and is very easy to use.