compact disk: Meaning and Definition of

com'pact disk'

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. an optical disk approximately 4 in. (12 cm) in diameter, on which a program, data, music, etc., is digitally encoded for a laser beam to scan, decode, and transmit to a playback system, computer monitor, or television set. Abbr.: CD &hasp;Cf. optical disk (def. 1).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.