Showing results for "disk"

• a variation of disc.

disk

American  

[disk] / dɪsk /

Also disc

noun

disks plural

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

Derived Forms

• disklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• disks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of disk

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin discus discus; cf. 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

See Examples For:

disk disks

Researchers have debated whether Jupiter's circumplanetary disk could have developed an empty inner region.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

This inner gap likely helped capture and preserve Io, Europa, and Ganymede as they moved through the disk.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

Dust in the disk scatters light from the central star, creating an effect similar to fog.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

The disk has a sharply defined inner boundary along with several other structures that have been difficult to explain.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Frank scooted back like the disk might explode.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

They also modeled the circumplanetary disks surrounding both worlds.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

That capability may prove especially valuable when planets are hidden by bright debris disks or other structures that make them difficult to distinguish in ordinary telescope images.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

Astrolabes are metallic disks with multi-layered, interlocking components that were historically used to tell the time, map the stars, the direction of Mecca and the motion of the sky.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

The disks sit in a jumble of gleaming metal equipment; Ms. Fox, in a pale-blue hazmat suit and surgical mask, peers in at them through a window.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

There, the last gear turned a series of brass disks with precisely cut edges.

From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

Related Words

• disc
• plate
• platter