Disk Drive

Example: "I replaced my old disk drive with an SSD that has twice the storage capacity."

A disk drive is a device that reads and/or writes data to a disk. The term is often used synonymously with "hard disk drive," but it may refer to other types of disk drives, such as optical media and removable drives.

Today, terms like HDD and SSD are more common storage terms than "disk drive." Many computers, especially laptops, now have PCI-based storage devices rather than disk drives.

First Published: August 30, 2010
Last Updated: February 17, 2024