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Synonyms

disk drive

American  

noun

Computers.

  1. a device that, using an access mechanism under program control, enables data to be read from or written on a spinning magnetic disk, magnetic disk pack, floppy disk, or optical disk.

disk drive British  

noun

  1. computing the controller and mechanism for reading and writing data on computer disks See also 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
disk drive Scientific  

  1. Computer Science A device that reads data stored on a magnetic or optical disk and writes data onto the disk for storage.

Etymology

Origin of disk drive

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

“It’s kind of like the hard disk drive story,” Fox said, explaining that EMS companies can stack different solutions and expand margins while saving end users money.

From Barron's • Dec. 29, 2025

She means the CD-ROM drive and hard disk drive, two features she has never known a computer to have in her lifetime.

From Washington Post • Mar. 1, 2023

And, with no onboard disk drive, that’s not good for the robust player, but Microsoft has come up with a compromise.

From Washington Times • Nov. 26, 2022

You can’t stick something in the disk drive, though, because there is no disk drive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2018

When Halliday had first started programming, the poor kid hadn’t even had access to a floppy disk drive.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.