flash drive

American  

Trademark, ThumbDrive, or flashdrive

noun

Computers.

1. a very small, portable, solid-state hard drive that can be inserted into a USB port for storage and retrieval of data.

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flash drive British  

noun

1. a pocket-sized portable computer hard drive and data storage device See also key drive pen drive thumb drive USB drive

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Etymology

Origin of flash drive

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Sandisk released a 1-terabyte $128 USB-C flash drive so small you can just leave it plugged in.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

A year after being handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking he dispatched a documentary with the title "This is Not a Film" to the Cannes Festival on a flash drive stashed in a cake.

From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025

Lexon’s beautifully designed refillable pen doubles as a USB flash drive with 32 GB capacity to store 4,000 pictures, 7,000 songs or 40 hours of video.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2023

“No one knows what’s on the flash drive except the city. The city elected here not to present any admissible evidence about what’s on the flash drive,” the judge said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2023

“If you can palm the ace of spades, then you can palm a flash drive or a piece of paper with a secret message on it,” he said.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti