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• disc
  disc

  noun

  a phonograph record.
• disc-
  disc-

  variant of disco- before a vowel.
• disc.
  disc.

  abbreviation

  discount.

disc

¹ American  

[disk] / dɪsk /

Also disk

noun

1. a phonograph record.

2. disk.

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verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to make (a recording) on a phonograph disc.

2. disk.

disc- ² American  

1. variant of disco- before a vowel.

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disc. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. discount.

2. discovered.

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disc British  

/ dɪsk /

noun

1. a flat circular plate

2. something resembling or appearing to resemble this

   the sun's disc

3. another word for (gramophone) record

4. anatomy any approximately circular flat structure in the body, esp an intervertebral disc

5. 1. the flat receptacle of composite flowers, such as the daisy

   2. ( as modifier )

      a disc floret

6. the middle part of the lip of an orchid

7. 1. Also called: parking disc.  a marker or device for display in a parked vehicle showing the time of arrival or the latest permitted time of departure or both

   2. ( as modifier )

      a disc zone

      disc parking

8. computing a variant spelling of disk

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verb

1. to work (land) with a disc harrow

Etymology

Origin of disc

see origin at disk

Explanation

A disc is an object that's round and flat. It might be a toy that you throw, like a Frisbee, or it might be a compact disc with digitally encoded music. Disc is often used interchangeably with disk. A disc galaxy, or disk galaxy, is a vast collection of stars that appears flat and circular through a telescope. The discs, or disks, in your spine are circular pads of cartilage that cushion the vertebrae. But the disc spelling is more commonly used for a phonograph record on which music is inscribed and played back on a record player. And a disc jockey entertains people by playing recorded music, originally that which was recorded on discs.

Example Sentences

In this study, he added, "they allowed us to demonstrate how stellar migration shapes the age profile of the disc and to identify where the star-forming region ends."

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026

Jason Ardizzone West’s abstract set is a construction of curving ramps, accommodating much of the big chorus and festooned with night lights; a large disc hangs above a center platform, occasionally tilting and dipping.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Catsimatidis even hired one of WABC’s legendary disc jockeys, Bruce Morrow — known to millions of baby boomers as Cousin Brucie.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

In that scenario, material would fall inward through rapidly rotating inner regions of the disc, producing much broader signals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026

The volcano with a bright halo at the rough center of the disc was observed in eruption just fifteen hours before this image was acquired: it has since been named Prometheus.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• layer
• slab
• slice