compact disk

American  

noun

1. an optical disk approximately 4.75 inches (12 centimeters) in diameter, on which a program, data, music, etc., is digitally encoded for a laser beam to scan, decode, and transmit to a playback system, computer monitor, or television set. CD

---

compact disk Scientific  

/ kŏm′păkt′ /

1. A small optical disk on which data such as music, text, or graphic images is digitally encoded.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

compact disk

The Milky Way is a typical 'disk' galaxy, which a shape similar to a pancake or compact disk, rotating about its centre and often containing spiral arms.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2023

Instead of moving back and forth across under the camera, the disk moves in a spiral, akin to how a compact disk is played, which speeds up imaging.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 14, 2022

Prominent geneticist Walter Gilbert would begin his public lectures by pulling out a compact disk and proclaiming "This is you!"

From Salon ● May 30, 2021

One was a burned compact disk taken from his bedroom, containing a copy of Cassim’s résumé, on which, in the “Properties” tab, Microsoft Word had automatically included the name of the document’s author: Kali.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 20, 2015

Many musical compositions never make it to paper, forever sentenced to tape or compact disk.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai