a device that, using an access mechanism under program control, enables data to be read from or written on a spinning magnetic disk, magnetic disk pack, floppy disk, or optical disk.
Origin
1970-75
British Dictionary definitions for disk drives
disk drive
noun
1.
(computing) the controller and mechanism for reading and writing data on computer disks See also disk (sense 2)
disk drives in Science
disk drive Computer Science A device that reads data stored on a magnetic or optical disk and writes data onto the disk for storage.