disk

Also disc

[disk]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal.,  disc.

2. to cultivate (soil) with a disk harrow.

disk

/ 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

disk

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.

Other Word Forms

• disklike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disk¹

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin discus discus; dish

Example Sentences

Mr Hopkins believes it originated in the Milky Way's "thick disk".

From BBC

That could mean the files and formats we use now, face a similar fate to the floppy disks and DVD drives of the past.

From BBC

During a search of the surgeon's home, police uncovered stacks of diaries and hard disks in which Le Scouarnec appeared to list hundreds more victims.

From BBC

“This was intriguing, but without a way to obtain spectra of those stars, we could not really establish whether we were witnessing genuine accretion and the presence of disks, or just some artificial effects.”

From Salon

The older we get, the more the cushiony disks that separate the vertebrae thin out.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• disc 
• plate 
• platter