swap file
1
6.3
- noun
- /swɑp faɪl/
- Specialized
:
archivo de intercambio
- As for the size of the swap file, I'm not too sure of the "perfect" size.
- swap file for Windows
- a permanent swap file
Examples
-
The computer ran slowly because the swap file was too small to handle the workload.
-
This will force Windows to set aside a contiguous area on your hard drive as the swap file.
Blog text (34) -
And so, with a 100GB Virtual Box, 4GB of RAM, and a 10GB swap file, I finally managed my first successful build of WebKit at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Blog text (6) -
To optimize performance, it is advisable to increase the size of the swap file on your system.
-
When the RAM is full, the operating system uses the swap file to temporarily store inactive data.
Synonyms
1
4.2
The computer uses part of its hard disk as extra memory when RAM is full
A part of the hard drive used as extra memory when computer memory is full
Part of a computer's disk used like extra memory when the computer's memory is full
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is compositionally built: 'swap' (to exchange or move) modifies 'file', so it denotes a file used for swapping memory pages. Although the concept is technical, the meaning follows regular noun-modifier composition and would be inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents and has basic computing context.
Etymology
Swap file comes from swap 'to exchange' and file meaning a place on the computer disk. Imagine your desk as the computer's fast memory, full of papers, and you put some papers in a box on the shelf called the swap file to make space and move them back when needed. That's why a swap file is a file on the disk the computer uses as extra memory.