register

[ rej-uh-ster ]
See synonyms for: registerregisteredregisters on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a book in which records of acts, events, names, etc., are kept.

  2. a list or record of such acts, events, etc.

  1. an entry in such a book, record, or list.

  2. an official document issued to a merchant ship as evidence of its nationality.

  3. registration or registry.

  4. a mechanical device by which certain data are automatically recorded.

  5. Music.

    • the compass or range of a voice or an instrument.

    • a part of this range produced in the same way and having the same quality: the head register;the upper register of the clarinet.

    • (in an organ) a stop.

  6. a device for controlling the flow of warmed air or the like through an opening, as from a duct to an interior, composed of a number of narrow, parallel blades, usually behind a grating, that may be adjusted so as to overlap and close the opening.

  7. Photography. proper relationship between two plane surfaces in photography, as corresponding plates in photoengraving.

  8. Printing.

    • a precise adjustment or correspondence, as of lines, columns, etc., especially on the two sides of a leaf.

    • correct relation or exact superimposition, as of colors in color printing.

  9. a bookmark, especially a ribbon attached to the spine of a book.

  10. Linguistics. a variety of language typically used in a specific type of communicative setting: an informal register;the register of scientific discourse.

  11. Computers. a high-speed storage location in the CPU, used to store a related string of bits, as a word or phrase.

verb (used with object)
  1. to enter or cause to be entered formally in a register.

  2. to cause (mail) to be recorded upon delivery to a post office for safeguarding against loss, theft, damage, etc., during transmission.

  1. to enroll (a student, voter, etc.) in a school or course of study, on the voting rolls, etc.

  2. to indicate by a record, as instruments do: The thermometer registered 102 degrees today.

  3. to indicate or show, as on a scale.

  4. Printing. to adjust so as to secure exact correspondence; cause to be in register.

  5. Military. to adjust (fire) on a known point.

  6. to show (surprise, joy, anger, etc.), as by facial expression or by actions.

  7. to document (a merchant ship engaged in foreign trade) by issuing a certificate of registry.

verb (used without object)
  1. to enter one's name or cause it to be entered in a register; enroll: to register at a motel.

  2. to apply for and obtain inclusion of one's name on the list of voters.

  1. to enroll in a school or course of study: I've registered for three English classes.

  2. Printing. to be in register.

  3. to show: A broad smile registered on his face.

  4. to have some effect; make some impression: My plea didn't register on him at all.

Origin of register

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the noun) Middle English registre, from Middle French, Old French, from Medieval Latin regestrum, registrum, alteration of Late Latin regesta “catalog, list,” noun use of neuter plural of Latin regestus “carried back, collected,” past participle of regerere “to carry back, pile up, collect,” from re- re- + gerere “to carry, conduct, display”; (for the verb) Middle English registren, from Middle French registrer, from Medieval Latin registrāre, derivative of regestrum, registrum

Other words for register

Other words from register

  • reg·is·ter·er, noun
  • reg·is·tra·bil·i·ty [rej-uh-struh-bil-i-tee], /ˌrɛdʒ ə strəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
  • reg·is·tra·ble, reg·is·ter·a·ble, adjective
  • mis·reg·is·ter, verb
  • non·reg·is·tra·ble, adjective
  • pre·reg·is·ter, verb (used with or without object)
  • re·reg·is·ter, verb
  • un·reg·is·tra·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with register

Words Nearby register

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

How to use register in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for register

register

/ (ˈrɛdʒɪstə) /


noun
  1. an official or formal list recording names, events, or transactions

  2. the book in which such a list is written

  1. an entry in such a list

  2. a recording device that accumulates data, totals sums of money, etc: a cash register

  3. a movable plate that controls the flow of air into a furnace, chimney, room, etc

  4. computing one of a set of word-sized locations in the central processing unit in which items of data are placed temporarily before they are operated on by program instructions

  5. music

    • the timbre characteristic of a certain manner of voice production: See head voice, chest voice

    • any of the stops on an organ as classified in respect of its tonal quality: the flute register

  6. printing

    • the correct alignment of the separate plates in colour printing

    • the exact correspondence of lines of type, columns, etc, on the two sides of a printed sheet of paper

  7. a form of a language associated with a particular social situation or subject matter, such as obscene slang, legal language, or journalese

  8. the act or an instance of registering

verb
  1. (tr) to enter or cause someone to enter (an event, person's name, ownership, etc) on a register; formally record

  2. to show or be shown on a scale or other measuring instrument: the current didn't register on the meter

  1. to show or be shown in a person's face, bearing, etc: his face registered surprise

  2. (intr) to have an effect; make an impression: the news of her uncle's death just did not register

  3. to send (a letter, package, etc) by registered post

  4. (tr) printing to adjust (a printing press, forme, etc) to ensure that the printed matter is in register

  5. (intr often foll by with) (of a mechanical part) to align (with another part)

  6. military to bring (a gun) to bear on its target by adjustment according to the accuracy of observed single rounds

Origin of register

1
C14: from Medieval Latin registrum, from Latin regerere to transcribe, from re- + gerere to bear

Derived forms of register

  • registerer, noun
  • registrable, adjective

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