recorder
Americannoun
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a person who records, especially as an official duty.
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English Law.
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a judge in a city or borough court.
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(formerly) the legal adviser of a city or borough, with responsibility for keeping a record of legal actions and local customs.
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a recording or registering apparatus or device.
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a device for recording sound, images, or data by electrical, magnetic, or optical means.
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an end-blown flute having a fipple mouthpiece, eight finger holes, and a soft, mellow tone.
noun
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a person who records, such as an official or historian
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something that records, esp an apparatus that provides a permanent record of experiments, etc
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short for tape recorder
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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
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(in England) a barrister or solicitor of at least ten years' standing appointed to sit as a part-time judge in the crown court
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing recorder
Music - Introductory
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sentencing Ali on Wednesday, Recorder Simon James said people had been "packed into every inch of available space", and were left "at the mercy of the unpredictable sea".
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The sentencing judge Recorder Simon James agreed that the suggestion from British authorities that Ali was responsible for the deaths amounted to "misinformation".
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Recorder David Chidgey dismissed Holder's application of bail to get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family, stating he was too much of a flight risk, due to his "significant resources".
From BBC • May 1, 2026
She started her career at legal-affairs newspaper the Recorder in San Francisco.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026
So it will be until the Great Recorder sums me up and closes my ledger account with a balance to profit or loss.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
