"pen drive" meaning in English

See pen drive in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: pen drives [plural], pendrive [alternative]
Etymology: A trademark for flash drives owned by Phison Electronics Corporation (US). Head templates: {{en-noun}} pen drive (plural pen drives)
  1. (computing, chiefly Asia) A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive; a flash drive. Wikipedia link: Phison Electronics Corporation, en:pen drive Categories (topical): Computing Synonyms: USB flash drive

Inflected forms

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "hu",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Hungarian: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Hungarian: pendrive"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pt",
            "2": "pen-drive",
            "3": "pen",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Portuguese: pen-drive, pen",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Portuguese: pen-drive, pen"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pl",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Polish: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Polish: pendrive"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "es",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Spanish: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Spanish: pendrive"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A trademark for flash drives owned by Phison Electronics Corporation (US).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pen drives",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pendrive",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pen drive (plural pen drives)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Asian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English genericized trademarks",
          "parents": [
            "Genericized trademarks",
            "Terms by etymology",
            "Trademarks",
            "Terms by usage"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Computing",
          "orig": "en:Computing",
          "parents": [
            "Technology",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 April 4, Juliane Viskup, Misdirection, Bloomington: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 92:",
          "text": "After Peter finished checking the operating system setup, he carefully unscrewed his pen drive and plugged the USB connection into the computer.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Aminuddin Mahmud, “Branding - Mamak Style”, in Aminuddin Mahmud, editor, New Malaysian Essays, 2nd edition, volume 1, Kuala Lumpur: Mata Hari, →ISBN, page 60:",
          "text": "So if you find yourself trapped in a pendrive/thumbdrive industry where everyone is basically making the same thing and copying patents whilst dishing out discounts, it's time to move on and separate yourself via a new identity.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, James Floyd Kelly, “Netbook Hardware Options” (chapter 2), in Windows Netbooks: The Path to Low-Cost Computing, Berkeley, California: Apress, →ISBN, page 24:",
          "text": "Pen drives have replaced the old floppy disks as the modern way to physically transport files from one computer to another. Yes, you can always email a file or burn it to a CD or DVD disc, but sometimes you just want to carry a copy of a file with you, and pen drives are so easy to use. You simply plug it into the USB port, and Windows treats it as just another storage location.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Ujjwala Walia, “The Timer Ticks” (chapter 5), in Zahana, Mumbai: BecomeShakespeare, →ISBN, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "‘What the fuck is this?’ Sen examined and almost laughed upon recognizing it. ‘A pendrive! A fucking pendrive! That's what the planter calls a bomb? Is he fucking kidding me?’",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Reyhaan, chapter 8, in Secrets of the Lost Queen, Mylapore: Notion Press, →ISBN, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "“If you don't mind, please give us the details in this pendrive,” I said, looking at his bald head.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive; a flash drive."
      ],
      "id": "en-pen_drive-en-noun-wRtWXjos",
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "electronic",
          "electronic"
        ],
        [
          "digital",
          "digital"
        ],
        [
          "data",
          "data"
        ],
        [
          "portable",
          "portable"
        ],
        [
          "robust",
          "robust"
        ],
        [
          "hard drive",
          "hard drive"
        ],
        [
          "flash drive",
          "flash drive"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "chiefly Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing, chiefly Asia) A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive; a flash drive."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "USB flash drive"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Phison Electronics Corporation",
        "en:pen drive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "pen drive"
}
{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "hu",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Hungarian: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Hungarian: pendrive"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pt",
            "2": "pen-drive",
            "3": "pen",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Portuguese: pen-drive, pen",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Portuguese: pen-drive, pen"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pl",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Polish: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Polish: pendrive"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "es",
            "2": "pendrive",
            "bor": "1"
          },
          "expansion": "→ Spanish: pendrive",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "→ Spanish: pendrive"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A trademark for flash drives owned by Phison Electronics Corporation (US).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pen drives",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pendrive",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pen drive (plural pen drives)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Asian English",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English genericized trademarks",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "en:Computing"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2006 April 4, Juliane Viskup, Misdirection, Bloomington: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 92:",
          "text": "After Peter finished checking the operating system setup, he carefully unscrewed his pen drive and plugged the USB connection into the computer.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Aminuddin Mahmud, “Branding - Mamak Style”, in Aminuddin Mahmud, editor, New Malaysian Essays, 2nd edition, volume 1, Kuala Lumpur: Mata Hari, →ISBN, page 60:",
          "text": "So if you find yourself trapped in a pendrive/thumbdrive industry where everyone is basically making the same thing and copying patents whilst dishing out discounts, it's time to move on and separate yourself via a new identity.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, James Floyd Kelly, “Netbook Hardware Options” (chapter 2), in Windows Netbooks: The Path to Low-Cost Computing, Berkeley, California: Apress, →ISBN, page 24:",
          "text": "Pen drives have replaced the old floppy disks as the modern way to physically transport files from one computer to another. Yes, you can always email a file or burn it to a CD or DVD disc, but sometimes you just want to carry a copy of a file with you, and pen drives are so easy to use. You simply plug it into the USB port, and Windows treats it as just another storage location.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Ujjwala Walia, “The Timer Ticks” (chapter 5), in Zahana, Mumbai: BecomeShakespeare, →ISBN, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "‘What the fuck is this?’ Sen examined and almost laughed upon recognizing it. ‘A pendrive! A fucking pendrive! That's what the planter calls a bomb? Is he fucking kidding me?’",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Reyhaan, chapter 8, in Secrets of the Lost Queen, Mylapore: Notion Press, →ISBN, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "“If you don't mind, please give us the details in this pendrive,” I said, looking at his bald head.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive; a flash drive."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "computing",
          "computing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "electronic",
          "electronic"
        ],
        [
          "digital",
          "digital"
        ],
        [
          "data",
          "data"
        ],
        [
          "portable",
          "portable"
        ],
        [
          "robust",
          "robust"
        ],
        [
          "hard drive",
          "hard drive"
        ],
        [
          "flash drive",
          "flash drive"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "chiefly Asia",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(computing, chiefly Asia) A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive; a flash drive."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "USB flash drive"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "computing",
        "engineering",
        "mathematics",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "sciences"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Phison Electronics Corporation",
        "en:pen drive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "pen drive"
}

Download raw JSONL data for pen drive meaning in English (4.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-04-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-04-03 using wiktextract (8c1bb29 and fb63907). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.