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

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compact disk Scientific  

/ kŏm′păkt′ /

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

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Example Sentences

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

The chief advantage of the compact disk over the MP3 was the satisfaction of owning a physical object.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 20, 2015

Some are already delivered together with a tape cassette or compact disk, to be heard rather than read, to be seen rather than to engage the reader's mind.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai