clerk

American  

[klurk, klahrk] / klɜrk, klɑrk /

noun

• clerks
  plural

1. a person employed, as in an office, to keep records, file, type, or perform other general office tasks.

2. a salesclerk.

3. a person who keeps the records and performs the routine business of a court, legislature, board, etc.

4. law clerk.

5. a member of the clergy; ecclesiastic.

6. a lay person charged with various minor ecclesiastical duties.

7. Archaic.

   1. a person who is able to read, or to read and write.

   2. a scholar.

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verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a clerk.

clerk British  

/ klɜːrk, klɑːk /

noun

1. a worker, esp in an office, who keeps records, files, etc

2. (in England) a legally qualified person who sits in court with lay justices to advise them on points of law

3. an employee of a court, legislature, board, corporation, etc, who keeps records and accounts, etc

   a town clerk

4. Also called: clerk of the House. a senior official of the House of Commons

5. Also called: clerk in holy orders. a cleric

6. short for salesclerk

7. Also called: desk clerk. a hotel receptionist

8. archaic a scholar

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verb

1. (intr) to serve as a clerk

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clerkdom
  noun
• clerkship
  noun
• outclerk
  noun
• subclerk
  noun
• subclerkship
  noun
• underclerk
  noun
• underclerkship
  noun
• clerkish
  adjective
• clerklike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clerks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of clerk

before 1000; Middle English, Old English clerc, variant of cleric < Late Latin clēricus cleric

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Explanation

A clerk is an office worker who does various paper work and often keeps accounts of money or other details. An office clerk might answer the phone, file papers, or organize computer records. A clerical worker is one kind of clerk, and another is the person behind a counter at a store who rings up sales on a cash register. The clerk at your favorite bookstore might also recommend the best new books. Clerk originally had a religious meaning, from cleric, which meant both "ordained person" and "literate person." Because of this second meaning, clerk came to mean "anyone who can read or write."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clerk clerks

When she pointed out the difference, she said, the clerk told her the store couldn’t do anything because the prices came from headquarters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

The Los Angeles County office of the registrar-recorder/county clerk has a vote center locator that includes the wait time to cast your ballot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

When she went to pay at the register, however, the clerk said around $48 had been spent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Jolene was released in 1973, and is about the fear she might lose her husband Carl Dean to a red-headed bank clerk who had flirted with him early on in their marriage.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

“I’d like to ship as clerk under Captain Prince, sir.”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

Companies including Target, Apple and Home Depot are working to stay ahead of the scammers, updating packaging, retraining store clerks and advising shoppers on where to check their balances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

ProPublica didn’t find any association between RTO and higher rates of late ballots in Wisconsin, even though clerks reported delays involving mail-in ballots cast in its state election, held this spring.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

Big jeers to hotels where front-desk clerks greet you not with a warm hello, but a rote, “ID and credit card, please.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The position involves overseeing and training attorneys, as well as law clerks and summer interns, on misdemeanor and felony case preparation and trial strategy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The mission schools trained the clerks, the interpreters, and the police-men, who at the time represented the height of African aspirations.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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Related Words

• agent
• auditor
• bookkeeper
• cashier
• employee
• operator
• receptionist
• salesperson
• secretary
• teller
• worker

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