hard drive

American  

[hahrd drahyv] / ˈhɑrd ˈdraɪv /

noun

Computers.

1. HDD.

2. (loosely) a drive for a computer, as a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) or another drive serving a similar function, as opposed to a very small, portable flash drive.

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hard drive British  

noun

1. computing (on a computer) the mechanism that handles the reading, writing, and storage of data on the hard disk

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hard drive Scientific  

1. A disk drive that reads data stored on hard disks.

2. Also called hard disk drive

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hard drive Cultural  

1. The bulk of the memory of a personal computer is magnetically stored on hard disks that constitute the hard drive. Information in the hard drive is durable, in that it remains magnetically stored when the computer is turned off. (See magnetic memory.)

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Etymology

Origin of hard drive

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Hayley: For Clyde, I think laptop, hard drive, computer charger, phone, wallet.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

And unlike most leading U.S. models, R1 is open-weight, meaning that its parameters are publicly available for anyone to download on their hard drive.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 24, 2026

People are using it to analyze federal economic data, recover wedding photos from a corrupted hard drive, build new websites from scratch, answer a barrage of emails or order food.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

AI is “fundamentally reshaping hard drive demand by elevating the economic value of data and data storage,” Seagate CEO Dave Mosley told Barron’s.

From Barron's • Dec. 29, 2025

I clutch the hard drive to my chest, lean my head on Tobias’s shoulder, and try to sleep.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• disk drive
• hardware
• modem
• personal computer
• supercomputer