Library / English Dictionary

DISK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A flat circular plate

Synonyms:

disc; disk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("disk" is a kind of...):

circle; round (any circular or rotating mechanism)

plate (a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disk"):

acetate disk; phonograph recording disk (a disk coated with cellulose acetate)

brake disk (a disk or plate that is fixed to the wheel; pressure is applied to it by the brake pads)

deadeye ((nautical) a round hardwood disk with holes and a grooved perimeter used to tighten a shroud)

diaphragm (electro-acoustic transducer that vibrates to receive or produce sound waves)

discus; saucer (a disk used in throwing competitions)

Frisbee (a light, plastic disk about 10 inches in diameter; propelled with a flip of the wrist for recreation or competition)

coin blank; planchet (a flat metal disk ready for stamping as a coin)

hockey puck; puck (a vulcanized rubber disk 3 inches in diameter that is used instead of a ball in ice hockey)

token (a metal or plastic disk that can be redeemed or used in designated slot machines)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(computer science) a memory device consisting of a flat disk covered with a magnetic coating on which information is stored

Synonyms:

disc; disk; magnetic disc; magnetic disk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("disk" is a kind of...):

memory device; storage device (a device that preserves information for retrieval)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disk"):

diskette; floppy; floppy disk (a small plastic magnetic disk enclosed in a stiff envelope with a radial slit; used to store data or programs for a microcomputer)

fixed disk; hard disc; hard disk (a rigid magnetic disk mounted permanently in a drive unit)

Derivation:

diskette (a small plastic magnetic disk enclosed in a stiff envelope with a radial slit; used to store data or programs for a microcomputer)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove

Synonyms:

disc; disk; phonograph record; phonograph recording; platter; record

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("disk" is a kind of...):

audio; audio recording; sound recording (a recording of acoustic signals)

Meronyms (parts of "disk"):

acetate disk; phonograph recording disk (a disk coated with cellulose acetate)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disk"):

L-P; LP (a long-playing phonograph record; designed to be played at 33.3 rpm)

78; seventy-eight (a shellac based phonograph record that played at 78 revolutions per minute)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate

Example:

the moon's disk hung in a cloudless sky

Synonyms:

disc; disk; saucer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("disk" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "disk"):

intervertebral disc; intervertebral disk (a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two))

dot; point (a very small circular shape)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Draw a harrow over (land)

Synonyms:

disk; harrow

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "disk" is one way to...):

plough; plow; turn (to break and turn over earth especially with a plow)

Domain category:

agriculture; farming; husbandry (the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

A flat rotating disk designed for data storage.

(Computer Disc, NCI Thesaurus)

In between them are soft disks filled with a jelly-like substance.

(Herniated Disk, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

Atrophy of the optic disk which may be congenital or acquired.

(Optic Atrophy, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A process that fills a dosage unit using a dosing disk to deliver the powder, which is not performed under sterile conditions.

(Non-Sterile Dosing Disk Powder Filling Method, NCI Thesaurus)

A data storage disk where the data is stored in a format to be read optically by a laser and receiver.

(Optical Disk Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Swelling around the optic disk, the area where the optic nerve (the nerve that carries messages from the eye to the brain) enters the eyeball.

(Papilledema, NCI Dictionary)

Suddenly the broad disk of the moon arose and shone full upon his ghastly and distorted shape as he fled with more than mortal speed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

A clear disk that focuses light, as in a camera or microscope.

(Lens, NCI Dictionary)

The central module of an operating systems, responsible for memory management, disk management, and process and task management.

(Kernel, NCI Thesaurus)

Common back injuries include: • Sprains and strains • Herniated disks • Fractured vertebrae

(Back Injuries, NIH)