CD-ROM

[ see-dee-rom ]

nounComputers.
  1. a compact disk on which a large amount of digitized read-only data can be stored.

Origin of CD-ROM

1
First recorded in 1980–85; shortening of c(ompact) d(isk) r(ead-)o(nly) m(emory)

Words Nearby CD-ROM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for CD-ROM

CD-ROM

/ (-ˈrɒm) /


noun
  1. compact disc read-only memory; a compact disc used with a computer system as a read-only optical disk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for CD-ROM

CD-ROM

[ dē′rŏm ]


  1. A compact disk containing permanently stored data that cannot be altered.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for CD-ROM

CD-ROM

An acronym for compact disc-read only memory. Commonly known as CDs, these plastic discs hold information that can be read by laser. (Compare magnetic tape.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.