: a CD containing computer data that cannot be altered

Examples of CD-ROM in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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On stage, Tenenbaum embodies True, the album’s main character, who exists in a sci-fi world where people get CD-ROMs slid into their foreheads to initiate a process of self-optimization. Abigail Lee, Variety, 13 May 2025 The mid-budget film was a significant box office success, inspiring a spinoff series, a more recent reboot series, a Broadway musical, a series of YA books, and, best of all, a CD-ROM video game. Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 8 May 2025 Remember the ’90s, when every incoming email triggered its own cheery alert and mailboxes overflowed with free CD-ROMs from AOL? Thomas H. Ruggie, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025 For those unaware, Lunar: The Silver Star, the first game in the series, debuted on the Sega CD peripheral for Sega Genesis back in 1992 (or 1993 in North America) featuring high-quality CD-ROM sound, full motion anime-style video cutscenes, and lots of voice acting. David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025 But years before that, with the 1998 launch of the original Half-Life, Valve cofounder and then-CMO Monica Harrington said she was inspired to take DRM more seriously by her nephew's reaction to the purchase of a new CD-ROM burner. Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2025 In 1989, the advent of CD-ROMs further revolutionized computing by introducing multimedia experiences. Tim Bajarin, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 Starting as a contractor at Microsoft in the fledgling CD-ROM group in 1988, Alan has worked on a variety of projects in his time here, from Age of Empires, to Brute Force as the studio head of Digital Anvil, to the founding of Turn 10. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 14 Oct. 2024 The nineties saw the emergence of CD-ROM recipe books like the MasterCook series. Ruby Tandoh, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

compact disc read-only memory

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of CD-ROM was in 1983

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“CD-ROM.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/CD-ROM. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

CD-ROM

noun
ˌsē-ˌdē-ˈräm
: a CD containing computer data that cannot be altered
Etymology

compact disc read-only memory

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