disk image

noun

: a compressed copy of the contents (such as installed programs, settings, and other data) of an optical disc, hard drive, or other digital storage device
By developing and using a standard disk image, information technology managers don't have to separately install all of a PC's programs. The disk image is copied onto each new PC's disk drive, and it's ready to go.Shawn McCarthy

Examples of disk image in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The seller will provide a disk image of a Windows 95 OSR 2.5 install (also sometimes known as Windows 95 C) in the ancient Norton Ghost format. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2024 Microsoft made a downloadable ISO disk image file for the beta Insider version available for installing Windows 11, allowing in-place upgrades or clean installations on a PC or in a virtual machine. PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2024 This frequently entails effectively shipping a complete computer disk image. IEEE Spectrum, 6 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disk image was in 1981

Dictionary Entries Near disk image

Cite this Entry

“Disk image.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disk%20image. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!