disk

noun, often attributive

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\ ˈdisk

variants: or disc

Definition of disk

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the seemingly flat figure of a celestial body the solar disk

b archaic : discus

2 : any of various rounded and flattened animal anatomical structures especially : intervertebral disk — compare slipped disk

3 : the central part of the flower head of a typical composite made up of closely packed tubular flowers

4 : a thin circular object: such as

a usually disc : a phonograph record

b : a round flat plate coated with a magnetic substance on which data for a computer is stored

c usually disc : optical disk: such as

(1) : videodisc

(2) : cd

5 usually disc : one of the concave circular steel tools with sharpened edge making up the working part of a disc harrow or plow also : an implement employing such tools

disk

verb

variants: or disc

disked or disced; disking or discing; disks or discs

Definition of disk (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cultivate with an implement (such as a harrow or plow) that turns and loosens the soil with a series of discs

Other Words from disk More Example Sentences Phrases Containing disk Learn More About disk

Examples of disk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun As the plasma in that disk swirls around the black hole, the particles within it generate an electrical current. — Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 10 May 2022 Or perhaps the human makes a copy of the AI onto an external disk drive or memory stick, carrying the AI out of the confinement, and then later on plugs the disk or memory stick into a non-confined computer. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 May 2022 The group is tightly nestled into a region of space that is less than twice the diameter of the Milky Way's stellar disk. — Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2022 The astronomers say that the galaxy's thick disk began to form about 13 billion years ago, just 800 million years after the Big Bang. — Christopher Intagliata, Scientific American, 5 Apr. 2022 After a few weeks of being unsure about his own injury, Nimmo was diagnosed with a bulging cervical disk pushing on a nerve in his neck. — Deesha Thosar, courant.com, 4 Apr. 2022 To solve the download problem, Parparita compressed the disk image and broke it up into 256K chunks that are downloaded on demand rather than up front. — Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 1 Apr. 2022 Your best option: do a full disk-image backup on a regular basis, with data included, using software that can read images and selectively pull files for restoration when necessary. — PCMAG, 31 Mar. 2022 Research conducted in previous decades suggested that halo stars were older than their disk counterparts. — Aylin Woodward, wsj.com, 23 Mar. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The soil can be disked, but preparation is not necessary if the seed is placed in full sun and makes contact with the soil. — Calvin Finch, ExpressNews.com, 13 Sep. 2019 Quick tip: State biologists enhance turkey habitat at wildlife management areas by planting winter food, such as wheat, alfalfa or rye grass, and renewing plant succession by burning or disking. — Brian Lovett, Outdoor Life, 3 Feb. 2020 Size: Disk up to 0.7 inch (1.7 centimeters) wide; stalk up to 0.3 inch (0.8 centimeter) tall IUCN Red List Status: — National Geographic, 18 Nov. 2016 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for disk

Noun

borrowed from Latin discus "discus, kind of plate, gong" borrowed from Greek dískos "discus," in Late Greek also "dish, round mirror, the sun's disk, gong" — more at discus

Verb

derivative of disk entry 1