DISC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does disc mean? 

• DISC (noun)
  The noun DISC has 4 senses:

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

2. something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate

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

4. a flat circular plate

  Familiarity information: DISC used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISC (noun)

Sense 1

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

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

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

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

Meronyms (parts of "disc"):

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

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

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 2

Meaning:

Something with a round shape resembling a flat circular plate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

disc; disk; saucer

Context example:

the moon's disk hung in a cloudless sky

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

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

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

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

disc; disk; magnetic disc; magnetic disk

Hypernyms ("disc" 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 "disc"):

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A flat circular plate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

disc; disk

Hypernyms ("disc" 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 "disc"):

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)

 Context examples 

An embryonic structure that appears as a disc composed of epiblast and hypoblast sac.

(Bilaminar Embryonic Disc, NCI Thesaurus)

Most of the gas escapes, but some is pulled into a disc swirling into the star at a rate of 3000 tonnes per second.

(First Giant Planet around White Dwarf Found, ESO)

Swelling around the optic disc, usually due to increased intracranial pressure or pressure on the optic nerve by a tumor.

(Papilledema, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by swelling around the optic disc.

(Papilledema, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

The researchers have modelled the full spatial dynamics of TNOs with the combined action of the giant outer planets and a massive, extended disc beyond Neptune.

(Mystery orbits in outermost reaches of solar system not caused by ‘Planet Nine’, University of Cambridge)

Using a novel planet-finding technique, the astronomers identified three disturbances in the gas-filled disc around the young star: the strongest evidence yet that newly formed planets are in orbit there.

(ALMA Discovers Trio of Infant Planets around Newborn Star, ESO)

The X-rays taken may highlight conditions such as spinal tumors, spinal cord swelling and herniated discs.

(Myelography, NCI Thesaurus)

Apparently it took billions of years longer for dark matter to condense as well, so its dominating effect is only seen on the rotation velocities of galaxy discs today.

(Dark Matter Less Influential in Galaxies in Early Universe, ESO)

SPHERE, a planet-hunting instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has captured the first confirmed image of a planet caught in the act of forming in the dusty disc surrounding a young star.

(First Confirmed Image of Newborn Planet, ESO)

A transmucosal formulation consisting of a small, mucoadhesive, bioerodible polymer disc formulated with the citrate salt of fentanyl, a synthetic anilidopiperidine opioid with analgesic activity.

(Fentanyl Buccal Soluble Film, NCI Thesaurus)