expansion card
compound.a small circuit board that you plug into a computer to give it new features. You use it to add things like better graphics, more storage, or a faster internet connection.
compound.a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or slot, on a computer motherboard to add functionality to a computer system. Common types include video cards, sound cards, and network interface cards.
“I bought a new expansion card to improve my computer's graphics.”
“If you want to record professional audio, you might need to install a high-quality expansion card into your desktop computer.”
“While modern motherboards integrate many features directly, specialized tasks like high-speed data acquisition or professional video editing still require a dedicated expansion card to handle the processing load.”
Typically used in the context of desktop computers rather than laptops, which use different internal connection standards.
A compound formed from the noun expansion, derived from the Latin expandere meaning to spread out, and the noun card, originating from the Greek chartēs for a leaf of papyrus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.