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

Etymology

Origin of clerk

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

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

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third appointee, was a clerk for Scalia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Town clerk of the time, James Hutcheon, said he had been told that Dumfries reminded many of them of their own towns and countryside back home.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

“So long as you truly intend to return, I think you’re fine,” said Beth Stevens, an election lawyer who worked for the Harris County clerk and the Texas Civil Rights Project.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

The Somers town court clerk said some defendants received a 6-month “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal,” meaning charges will be dropped and their arrest sealed if they avoid trouble.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

He hands the luggage clerk a package wrapped in brown paper.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

His friends and former clerks describe him as a quiet workaholic who tends to defer to other people in one-on-one conversations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Witnesses gave testimonies in homespun terms, and clerks transcribed their statements by hand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Some date labels are intended to help store clerks with inventory management.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

Others are promised roles as drivers or clerks, or that the contract will last "just one year".

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Using Therbligs, Dad had shown Regal Shoe Company clerks how they could take a customer’s shoe off in seven seconds, and put it back on again and lace it up in twenty-two seconds.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Related Words

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