disk operating system

American

noun

Computers.

DOS.

disk operating system British

noun

Often shortened to: DOS. an operating system used on a computer system with one or more disk drives

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Apple has developed desktop computers that not only run its Macintosh software system but also use the same disk operating system -- or DOS -- used by IBM models.

From Time Magazine Archive

Microsoft developed the now famous disk operating system for the IBM-PC -- called DOS -- and later created the operating software for the next generation of IBM personal computers, the Personal System/2.

From Time Magazine Archive

Lodged in a host computer, the typical virus takes temporary control of the computer's disk operating system.

From Time Magazine Archive

A decade ago, the two companies teamed up to develop the IBM PC, with Microsoft contributing the disk operating system, or DOS.

From Time Magazine Archive

In addition, the machine in its various configurations requires three different versions of IBM's somewhat intimidating disk operating system, PC-DOS.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023