floppy disk

or flop·py·disk

[ flop-ee disk ]

See synonyms for floppy disk on Thesaurus.com

nounComputers.

a portable storage medium consisting of a square plastic case containing a thin disk coated with magnetic material that is inserted into a drive to read and write data: popular from the 1970s through the 1990s.

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Origin of floppy disk

First recorded in 1970–75; called floppy from the fact that the earliest (8 inch) disk housing was somewhat flexible, though later (3.5 inch) disks had a rigid plastic case

Also called floppy, diskette, flex·i·ble disk, magnetic disk .

Compare hard disk.

Words Nearby floppy disk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use floppy disk in a sentence

When your screenshot is looking exactly like you want, click the save button to the right, which looks like a floppy disk.
How to edit screenshots on any device | David Nield | August 24, 2021 | Popular-Science
The series dates back to the late 1980s, when games were still being released on floppy disks and inserted into the Nintendo Famicom Disk System.
‘Mario Golf: Super Rush’ brings the putting green to your living room | Shannon Liao | June 24, 2021 | Washington Post
Imagine a world where you couldn’t play Tetris unless you knew a guy who had a copy of it on floppy disk.
Gone Gaming! | Sean Culligan | June 9, 2021 | Ozy
The source code was archived on a black 3.5-inch floppy disk now on display at the Boston Museum of Science.
Hackers’ Most Destructive Attacks | Brian Ries | December 11, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for floppy disk

floppy disk

noun

a flexible removable magnetic disk that stores information and can be used to store data for use in a microprocessor: Also called: diskette, flexible 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

Scientific definitions for floppy disk

floppy disk

[ flŏp′pē ]

A flexible plastic disk coated with magnetic material and covered by a protective jacket, used for storing data. Floppy disks were once the principal storage medium for personal computers, but inexpensive hard disks and writable compact disks have greatly diminished their role.

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