a small digital audio disc on which sound is recorded as a series of metallic pits enclosed in PVC; the disc is spun by the compact disc player and read by an optical laser system
Also called: compact audio disc
Abbreviation: CD, CAD
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Com′pact Disc′, [Trademark.]
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- Sound Reproduction, Trademarksa brand of compact disk.
ˈcom•pact ˈdisc, n. [countable]
- Computinga small optical disc on which music, data, or images are digitally recorded for playback.Abbr.: CD
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Compact Disc' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
CD
- CD-R
- CD-ROM
- CD-RW
- CD-video
- CDE
- VCD
- black disc
- burn
- compact disc erasable
- compact disc recordable
- jewel box
- laserdisc
- minidisc
- music centre
- random access
- recording
- shuffle play