disk

American  

[disk] / dɪsk /

Also disc

noun

1. any thin, flat, circular plate or object.

2. any surface that is flat and round, or seemingly so.

   the disk of the sun.

3. disc.

4. Computers. any of several types of media consisting of thin, round plates of plastic or metal, used for external storage.

   magnetic disk;

   hard disk;

   optical disk.

5. Botany, Zoology. any of various roundish, flat structures or parts.

6. intervertebral disk.

7. Botany. (in the daisy and other composite plants) the central portion of the flower head, composed of tubular florets.

8. any of the circular steel blades that form the working part of a disk harrow.

9. Mathematics. the domain bounded by a circle.

10. Archaic. discus.

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verb (used with object)

1. Informal. disc.

2. to cultivate (soil) with a disk harrow.

disk British  

/ dɪsk /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US and Canadian) of disc

2. Also called: magnetic disk.   hard disk.  computing a direct-access storage device consisting of a stack of plates coated with a magnetic layer, the whole assembly rotating rapidly as a single unit. Each surface has a read-write head that can move radially to read or write data on concentric tracks Compare drum 1 See also floppy disk

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disk Scientific  

/ dĭsk /

1. 1. See magnetic disk

   2. See optical disk

2. See intervertebral disk

3. The round, flat center, consisting of many disk flowers, found in the inflorescences of many composite plants such as the daisy.

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Other Word Forms

• disklike adjective

Etymology

Origin of disk

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin discus discus; dish

Explanation

A disk is a round, flat circle. The face of the clock on your kitchen wall is a disk. Disk, also spelled disc, refers to anything with a circular flat shape, like a Frisbee, a penny, or a dinner plate. In computing, a disk is a device that stores data, and in the audio/video world, a disk can be a musical compact disk, or a DVD, a digital video disk. A disk jockey is someone who plays music, either on LPs or CDs, on the radio. The Greek root, diskos, means "platter."

Example Sentences

Last fall, he underwent disk replacement surgery in his lower back.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

The 50-year-old, who has had a series of operations in the last two years, has been sidelined since having an operation in October to replace a disk in his back.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

“That advice has not aged well—it has the practical value of a floppy disk today,” wrote Gill.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

As the disk precesses, it periodically blocks and reflects light coming from the magnetar.

From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2026

And then it came to me, like the first shocking glimpse of the sun’s disk rising over the horizon, what it was I did want to do.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Related Words

• disc
• plate
• platter