Meanings
plural core dumps
- computingThe recorded state of the memory of a computer program at a specific time, generally when the program has terminated abnormally.
Certain signals cause a process to create a core dump and terminate (Table 20-1, page 396). A core dump is a file containing a memory image of the process at the time it terminated. (The term core derives from an old memory technology.)
2010, Michael Kerrisk, The Linux Programming Interface, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 448Synonyms: crash dump, memory dump
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe recorded state of the memory of a computer program at a specific time, generally when the program has terminated abnormally.
Origin
From dumping the contents of the (now obsolete) core memory out to be read.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto nekropsio
- nekropsiorecorded state of memory
Polish zrzut pamięci
- zrzut pamięcirecorded state of memory
Spanish volcado de memoria
- volcado de memoriarecorded state of memory
Cite this entry
core dump. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/core%20dump
“core dump.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/core%20dump. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “core dump,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/core%20dump.
Source: core dump on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.