disk space

Meanings

1. 1noununcountablecomputing

   The amount of storage available on a computer's hard drive or other storage device.

   Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'enough', 'more', 'free', etc. 'I need more disk space.' Not 'a disk space'.

   Patterns

   • free disk space
   • enough disk space
   • disk space on something

   I need to delete some files because I'm running out of disk space.

   The new software requires at least 10 GB of free disk space.

   Check how much disk space you have left before installing the game.

2. 2noununcountablecomputingtechnical

   The storage capacity of a disk, often measured in bytes.

   Grammar: Often used in technical specifications: 'disk space of 500 GB'.

   Patterns

   • disk space capacity
   • disk space usage

   The server has plenty of disk space for backups.

   We monitor disk space usage to prevent crashes.

   This plan offers 1 TB of disk space.

Common combinations

free disk space

You should regularly clean up free disk space.

run out of disk space

My phone ran out of disk space, so I couldn't take more photos.

disk space usage

The app shows disk space usage in a clear graph.

enough disk space

Make sure you have enough disk space before downloading the update.

disk space on a drive

There's not much disk space on the C: drive.

Synonyms and how they differ

storage

Storage is a broader term that includes disk space, but also cloud storage and memory. Disk space specifically refers to space on a disk drive.

capacity

Capacity refers to the maximum amount that can be held, while disk space often refers to the available amount at a given time.

Word family

disk noun

A flat, circular object used to store data in a computer.

disk drive noun

A device that reads and writes data on a disk.

Commonly confused: disk space or disc space?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “disk space”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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