reading

[ ree-ding ]
See synonyms for reading on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the action or practice of a person who reads.

  2. Speech. the oral interpretation of written language.

  1. the interpretation given in the performance of a dramatic part, musical composition, etc.: an interesting reading of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.

  2. the extent to which a person has read; literary knowledge: a man of wide reading.

  3. matter read or for reading: a novel that makes good reading.

  4. the form or version of a given passage in a particular text: the various readings of a line in Shakespeare.

  5. an instance or occasion in which a text or other matter is read or performed, usually without elaborate preparation and often as a means of testing its merits: The playwright wants to have a reading of the play for prospective producers.

  6. an interpretation given to anything: What is your reading of the situation?

  7. the indication of a graduated instrument: The reading is 101.2°F.

adjective
  1. pertaining to or used for reading: reading glasses.

  2. given to reading: the reading public.

Origin of reading

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English redyng (gerund), Old English rǣdinge; see read1, -ing1, -ing2

Other words from reading

  • non·read·ing, noun
  • self-reading, adjective

Other definitions for Reading (2 of 2)

Reading
[ red-ing ]

noun
  1. Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquis of, 1860–1935, Lord Chief Justice of England 1913–21; viceroy of India 1921–26.

  2. a city in Berkshire, in S England.

  1. a city in SE Pennsylvania.

  2. a town in E Massachusetts, near Boston.

  3. a city in SW Ohio.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reading in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reading (1 of 2)

reading

/ (ˈriːdɪŋ) /


noun
    • the act of a person who reads

    • (as modifier): a reading room; a reading lamp

    • ability to read

    • (as modifier): the reading public; a child of reading age

  1. any matter that can be read; written or printed text

  2. a public recital or rendering of a literary work

  3. the form of a particular word or passage in a given text, esp where more than one version exists

  4. an interpretation, as of a piece of music, a situation, or something said or written

  5. knowledge gained from books: a person of little reading

  6. a measurement indicated by a gauge, dial, scientific instrument, etc

  7. parliamentary procedure

    • the formal recital of the body or title of a bill in a legislative assembly in order to begin one of the stages of its passage

    • one of the three stages in the passage of a bill through a legislative assembly: See first reading, second reading, third reading

  8. the formal recital of something written, esp a will

British Dictionary definitions for Reading (2 of 2)

Reading

/ (ˈrɛdɪŋ) /


noun
  1. a town in S England, in Reading unitary authority, Berkshire, on the River Thames: university (1892). Pop: 232 662 (2001)

  2. a unitary authority in S England, in Berkshire. Pop: 144 100 (2003 est). Area: 37 sq km (14 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012