disk drive

American  

noun

Computers.

1. a device that, using an access mechanism under program control, enables data to be read from or written on a spinning magnetic disk, magnetic disk pack, floppy disk, or optical disk.

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disk drive British  

noun

1. computing the controller and mechanism for reading and writing data on computer disks See also disk

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disk drive Scientific  

1. Computer Science A device that reads data stored on a magnetic or optical disk and writes data onto the disk for storage.

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Etymology

Origin of disk drive

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

They are the world's largest consumers of hard disk drives, which are one of the largest end uses for rare earth magnets.

From Salon

The system features a computer screen, disk drives and USB ports, as well as two colour-coded telephone handsets - a red phone to receive incoming calls from the North and a green one for outgoing calls.

From Reuters

The front page of Apple Daily reported the raid, saying police seized 44 hard disk drives as evidence.

From Reuters

Commerce Department regulation sought to “tighten Huawei’s ability to procure items that are the direct product of specified U.S. technology or software, such as hard disk drives.”

From Reuters

We saw a number of new system icons back in March, with new File Explorer, folder, Recycle Bin, disk drive icons, and more.

From The Verge

Related Words

• hard disk