hard drive

American  

[hahrd drahyv] / ˈhɑrd ˈdraɪv /

noun

Computers.

1. HDD.

2. (loosely) a drive for a computer, as a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) or another drive serving a similar function, as opposed to a very small, portable flash drive.

---

hard drive British  

noun

1. computing (on a computer) the mechanism that handles the reading, writing, and storage of data on the hard disk

---

hard drive Scientific  

1. A disk drive that reads data stored on hard disks.

2. Also called hard disk drive

---

hard drive Cultural  

1. The bulk of the memory of a personal computer is magnetically stored on hard disks that constitute the hard drive. Information in the hard drive is durable, in that it remains magnetically stored when the computer is turned off. (See magnetic memory.)

---

Etymology

Origin of hard drive

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Despite strong results, Western Digital’s stock dropped 6% after-hours, reflecting investor expectations amid the AI boom’s pressure on hard drive supply.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Daniel landed in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and a hard drive containing $350,000 in bitcoin.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Apple’s pocket music player largely owed its existence to one fortuitous meeting Apple executives had with the maker of a tiny hard drive that didn’t seem to have any practical application.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

"If implemented at scale, it could represent a milestone in the history of knowledge storage, akin to oracle bones, medieval parchment or the modern hard drive," they said.

From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026

He takes the hard drive from his back pocket.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• disk drive
• hardware
• modem
• personal computer
• supercomputer