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Synonyms

CD-ROM

American  
[see-dee-rom] / ˈsiˌdiˈrɒm /

noun

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


CD-ROM British  
/ -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

CD-ROM Scientific  
/ sēdē′rŏm /
  1. A compact disk containing permanently stored data that cannot be altered.


CD-ROM Cultural  
  1. An acronym for c ompact d isc-r ead o nly m emory. Commonly known as CDs, these plastic discs hold information that can be read by laser. (Compare magnetic tape.)


Etymology

Origin of CD-ROM

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Since full-motion video games weren’t quite at the crisp visual quality for home consoles with modern CD-ROM limitations, Anderson approached making the game as a frame-by-frame experiment.

From Los Angeles Times May 22, 2024

Tait spent 10 years at Microsoft on projects ranging from operating systems to CD-ROM programs, according to his LinkedIn profile.

From Seattle Times Aug. 1, 2022

As computers became popular in the 1980s, Mr. Englander created an interactive CD-ROM guide to Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.”

From Washington Post Mar. 2, 2021

The demands for alien intel became so many that the CIA eventually compiled it onto a CD-ROM, obtained by Greenwald and uploaded to the Black Vault, divvied into dozens of downloadable PDFs.

From Fox News Jan. 12, 2021

Dad has a CD-ROM encyclopedia, a fax modem, and a Web navigator that gets hundreds of information services.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

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