virtual memory
[ vûr′chōō-əl ]
A memory management system in a computer that temporarily stores inactive parts of the content RAM on a disk, restoring it to RAM when quick access to it is needed. This allows software to operate as though the computer has more RAM than it actually does.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
How to use virtual memory in a sentence
On a whim, or out of extreme fear of a bad word, entire sites disappear down the virtual-memory hole.
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