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definitions

virtual storage

noun Computers.

a system whereby addressable memory is extended beyond main storage through the use of secondary storage managed by system software in such a way that programs can treat all of the designated storage as addressable main storage.

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Compare real storage.

Origin of virtual storage

First recorded in 1970–75
Also called virtual memory.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for virtual memory

virtual storage

virtual memory

noun

a computer system in which the size of the memory is effectively increased by automatically transferring sections of a program from a large capacity backing store, such as a disk, into the smaller core memory as they are required
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
Science definitions for virtual memory

virtual memory

[vûr′chōō-əl]

A memory management system in a computer that temporarily stores inactive parts of the content RAM on a disk, restoring it to RAM when quick access to it is needed. This allows software to operate as though the computer has more RAM than it actually does.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.