This page gathers the 97 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Computer hardware”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples.
- actuator noun The mechanism that moves the head assembly on a disk drive.
- add on noun A software extension or hardware peripheral that provides additional functions or customization for a core application or system.
- ALU noun Initialism of arithmetic logic unit.
- androgynous adj Of a connector or docking port, able to connect to another connector or port of the same type, rather than being restricted to connecting…
- average seek time noun Of a hard drive, the average of all possible seek times equivalent to the time of all possible seeks divided by the number of all possible…
- backward compatibility noun The capability of an electronic device, a piece of software, etc., to interoperate with older systems; (countable) an instance of this.
- band printer noun A type of impact line printer in which a metal band, etched with character shapes and timing marks, moves horizontally across the print…
- blowhole noun A vertical opening in the top of a computer case that lets hot air (primarily from the CPU heat sink) escape quickly.
- Blu-ray Disc noun An optical disc storage medium used for data and video, introduced in 2006, having the same physical dimensions as a CD or DVD but greater…
- boot time noun The amount of time required to load the kernel of an operating system, its device drivers, and the initialization of the hardware.
- bus bridge noun A device for connecting two disparate hardware buses.
- capture card noun A circuit board allowing a computer to record video from an external source.
- central processing unit noun The part of a computer that fetches, decodes and executes instructions from memory, possibly through a cache.
- computer architecture noun The conceptual structure around which a given computer is designed.
- control bus noun A part of the system bus that is used by CPUs for communicating with other devices within the computer.
- control key noun A key on a personal computer or terminal keyboard used in combination to modify the function of other keys.
- controller noun A mechanism that controls or regulates the operation of a machine, especially a peripheral device in a computer.
- coprocessor noun An additional microprocessor used to supplement the functionality of the central processing unit, performing tasks such as floating-point…
- core noun An individual computer processor, in the sense when several processors (called cores or CPU cores) are plugged together in one single…
- CPU noun Initialism of central processing unit.
- daisywheel printer noun A printer that operates by striking the page with moulded characters from a rotating circular arrangement, obsolete since the late 1980s.
- data wipe verb To perform a data wipe.
- device noun A peripheral device; an item of hardware.
- dGPU noun Initialism of discrete graphics processing unit, a graphics processing unit which has access to dedicated graphics memory.
- disk noun Ellipsis of floppy disk.
- disk access time noun The total amount of time required for an operating system to process a read-write request involving disk storage.
- diskette noun An 8-inch floppy disk.
- dock connector noun A connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources.
- docking port noun The physical connection interface on a laptop or device where the docking station or other peripherals can be connected.
- docking station noun A piece of hardware that expands the connectivity of a laptop or mobile device by linking it to peripherals such as monitors, keyboards…
- dongle noun Any small device that plugs into an electronic device, typically a computer, and alters its functionality. Common examples include wireless…
- dot matrix printer noun A type of printer that prints characters using an array of small wires that produce an array of dots when striking the paper.
- drive noun An apparatus for reading and writing data to or from a mass storage device such as a disk.
- DTE noun Data Terminal Equipment
- engineering sample noun A non-final version of an integrated circuit meant for product development, validation, or demonstration purposes.
- factory reset noun A process that restores an electronic device to its factory setting by erasing all user data and personalized configurations.
- fieldbus noun A member of a family of industrial digital communication networks used for real-time distributed control.
- floating-point unit noun A microprocessor that performs floating-point arithmetic. In older models of computer the FPU was not integrated into the central…
- floppy disk noun A removable disk used for storing digital data, measuring between 2 and 8 inches diagonally and storing between 80 KB and 240 MB.
- forward compatibility noun The capability of an electronic device, a piece of software, etc., to interoperate with anticipated future systems.
- graphics processing unit noun A specialized electronic circuit designed to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device.
- hard disk noun One of a series of parallel magnetic recording disks in a drive unit, used for the recording and retrieval of digital information; used…
- hard drive noun An electromechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid, rapidly…
- hard reset noun The reinitialization of the core hardware components of a computer system, ending any software processes and restarting the operating…
- in-plane switching noun A type of liquid crystal display (LCD) layered parallel between two glass pieces that is activated by an electric current to produce an…
- inkjet printer noun A device for the printing of documents which that operates by propelling tiny droplets of liquid ink onto paper.
- keyboard noun A set of keys laid out in a gridlike pattern, used for typing on a typewriter, computer, etc.
- keybounce noun Multiple recorded keystrokes from a single press of a key on a computer keyboard due to poor electrical contact.
- kick noun The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.
- laser printer noun A computer printer that uses a laser beam to produce an image on a rotating drum before transferring it to the paper.
- legacy-free adj Lacking certain older components such as a floppy disk drive, legacy ports, and ISA or other expansion bus.
- line printer noun A high-speed impact printer, most often used by older mainframes, that prints an entire line in a single operation.
- mainframe noun A large, powerful computer able to manage very many simultaneous tasks and communicate with very many connected terminals; used by large…
- mask work noun A type of three-dimensional image or pattern on a layer of materials used to design or manufacture a semiconductor chip.
- mass storage noun Any form of data storage (non-volatile memory) with high capacity relative to that of the faster volatile memory of computers (of its time).
- maximum seek time noun The amount of time required for a disk drive to seek through all possible tracks, from the innermost to the outermost or vice versa.
- memory card noun A solid state digital memory storage format, commonly found on computers, digital cameras and cellphones.
- microcomputer noun A computer designed around a microprocessor, smaller than a minicomputer or a mainframe.
- minidisc noun A disc/disk in MiniDisc format
- mobo noun A motherboard.
- Molex to SATA, lose all your data phrase Using a Molex-to-SATA adapter to power a storage device may lead to loss of data, as a poorly designed and unreliable connector may cause…
- motherboard noun The primary circuit board of a personal computer, containing the circuitry for the central processing unit, keyboard, mouse and monitor…
- mouse bungee noun A device that secures the cable of a computer mouse, preventing it from tangling and allowing full freedom of movement.
- multicore adj Combining two or more independent cores into a single package composed of a single integrated circuit
- multidrop adj Of a computer bus, having all components connected to the same set of electrical wires, each component listening for its own data and…
- New World ROM noun The firmware, specifically the bootROM, that was introduced on Macintosh computers in 1998 with the first iMac.
- optical disc noun A modern data storage medium consisting of a flat disc read mechanically by illumination with laser light, including the Laserdisc, compact…
- pedestal server noun A type of computer rack consisting of a box-like frame or a columnar support, and may include wheels for transportation.
- peripheral device noun An electronic device that is outside the computer's system unit (external to the computer's enclosing case), but used by the computer to…
- perpendicular recording noun A technique of creating magnetic data storage using vertical as opposed to longitudinal magnetization.
- port replicator noun A device used to quickly connect multiple peripherals to a laptop through a single interface, typically through a USB port.
- powerwash noun The process of resetting a Chromebook or any other ChromeOS device to its factory settings, by deleting all data from the unit.
- printer noun A device, usually attached to a computer, used to print text or images onto paper; an analogous device capable of producing…
- ready queue noun A data structure that holds a process that is ready to run, but is unable to do so because the CPU is already occupied.
- road map noun A structured representation of objects to display a development plan, used in business for strategic planning and communications.
- rollover cable noun A kind of cable used to connect consoles to computers, having the pinouts on one end reversed with respect to the other.
- screen mask noun A protective layer that guards against dust and moisture in an LED display.
- sector noun A fixed-sized unit (traditionally 512 bytes) of sequential data stored on a track of a digital medium.
- seek time noun The measurement of time required for the head assembly on the actuator arm of a hard drive to travel to the track of the disk where the…
- shield noun A circuit board that can connect to an Arduino microcontroller and extend its capabilities.
- silicon lottery noun The uncertainty surrounding microprocessors' overclocking potential, which is typically unknown to a consumer (so that, by chance, some get…
- startup time noun The boot time of a system in addition to the amount of time required for the operating system to load and initialize all its services and…
- storage noun Any computer device, including such as a disk, on which data is stored for a longer term than main memory.
- streaming tape noun A data storage technology using magnetic tape where the tape is in constant motion while reading or writing data.
- superfloppy noun Any of various disks of approximately the size of a floppy disk but capable of storing far larger amounts of data.
- system bus noun A single computer bus that connects the major components of a computer system, combining the functions of a data bus, an address bus, and a…
- system pull noun A new computer part that has been removed from an unused, previously assembled system.
- Thunderbolt chassis noun An electronics chassis, physically external to a host system, that provides a means to connect PCI Express cards to that host using the…
- touch screen noun An input and output device that allows the user to interact with the computer by touching the display screen.
- USB noun A USB flash drive.
- USB key noun A USB drive used to identify and authenticate a user.
- vertical alignment noun A style of liquid crystal display (LCD) that is naturally stored in an upright vertical position, producing a black image until an…
- very-large-scale adj Of a system, containing hundreds of thousands of transistors on a single integrated circuit.
- virtual 8086 mode noun A mode allowing the execution of real mode applications that are incapable of running directly in protected mode while the processor is…
- watchdog timer noun An electronic or software timer used to detect and recover from computer malfunctions by generating a timeout signal if it is not…
- web server noun the computer on which such software runs.
- worm drive noun A write once, read many drive; data storage technology that allows information to be written to a disc a single time and prevents the drive…