input/output device
- noun
- /ˈɪnpʊt ˈaʊtpʊt dɪˈvaɪs/
- Specialized
- This paper describes Serial Storage Architecture (SSA), a definition and general specification of a high-performance serial link for the attachment of input/output devices.
Examples
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The printer is an essential input/output device that allows users to send documents from their computer and receive hard copies.
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Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) defines a high-performance serial link for the attachment of input/output devices.
Academic text (1996) -
Many modern computers use USB ports to connect various input/output devices, like keyboards and mice.
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An external hard drive functions as an input/output device, enabling data transfer between the computer and the storage unit.
Synonyms
1
4.7
An electronic machine like a printer that connects to a computer to let you enter, see or save information
A machine like a keyboard or printer that moves information between a computer and a user
A machine like a keyboard or monitor that sends data into and out of a computer
How Versatile
Surface Forms
Morphology
input/output + device
The meaning is directly compositional: a device that accepts input and produces output. If a B1 learner knows 'input', 'output' and 'device', they can readily infer this technical but transparent functional description (the slash simply signals dual roles), and similar word-for-word constructions occur across languages.
Etymology
Input/output device is like a two-way door for a computer: it can take data in (input) and send data out (output). So, it means 'a device that both receives and sends information'.