recorder

American  

[ri-kawr-der] / rɪˈkɔr dər /

noun

• recorders
  plural

1. a person who records, especially as an official duty.

2. English Law.

   1. a judge in a city or borough court.

   2. (formerly) the legal adviser of a city or borough, with responsibility for keeping a record of legal actions and local customs.

3. a recording or registering apparatus or device.

4. a device for recording sound, images, or data by electrical, magnetic, or optical means.

5. an end-blown flute having a fipple mouthpiece, eight finger holes, and a soft, mellow tone.

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recorder British  

/ rɪˈkɔːdə /

noun

1. a person who records, such as an official or historian

2. something that records, esp an apparatus that provides a permanent record of experiments, etc

3. short for tape recorder

4. music a wind instrument of the flute family, blown through a fipple in the mouth end, having a reedlike quality of tone. There are four usual sizes: bass, tenor, treble, and descant

5. (in England) a barrister or solicitor of at least ten years' standing appointed to sit as a part-time judge in the crown court

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recorder Cultural  

1. A wooden flute played like a whistle. It was popular in the fourteenth through eighteenth centuries. Interest in it has been revived over the past few decades.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recordership
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recorders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of recorder

1275–1325; Middle English recorder wind instrument ( see record, -er ¹), recordour legal official (< Anglo-French recordour, Old French recordeour )

Explanation

A recorder is a machine that reproduces (or records) sound. A reporter might use a recorder during an interview. A recorder is also often a first musical instrument for kids, who crank out “Hot Cross Buns” at top volume. A digital recorder and the recorder on your cell phone are both examples of electronic recorders. A person whose job involves taking notes or keeping written records during a meeting can also be called a recorder. A now-obsolete meaning of the verb record is "practice a tune," and from this came the 15th century name of the musical instrument called a recorder. These wind instruments are still around, not just in elementary schools.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recorder recorders

He recalled filming himself singing using a VHS recorder as a child.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

With its young band cutting demos on a four-track cassette recorder, “Nimrods” could have been set in 2026, 1996 or 1976 — phones and social media are practically nonexistent in the plot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Bagdasarian’s father, Ross Bagdasarian Sr., who went by the stage name David Seville, invented the musical trio in 1958 after speeding up his voice to achieve a higher pitch using a $200 tape recorder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

In June 1981, before becoming president, he survived a bombing claimed by the Mujahedin-e Khalq group, when an explosive device concealed in a tape recorder detonated during a speech.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Then I climbed into bed and turned the recorder on again.

From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson

Stephen carried a neatly packed bag lined with recorders, headphones and batteries.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

This included examining the accident site and plane wreckage; collecting evidence, including the flight recorders; and reviewing relevant records, including the crew members' medical history and training records.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Richard Garstang, a portfolio manager for Oldfield Partners, touted Pason Systems, a Canadian oil services company that makes electronic drilling recorders that sit on rigs and offer real time monitoring.

From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026

Just as roadkill summons vultures, so too does human misery summon journalists, who travel across the country to shove cameras and recorders at people enduring things no one should experience.

From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2026

The quipu recorders placed intricate knots in the strings to indicate our ages and our purpose for traveling.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

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