clerk

American  

[klurk, klahrk] / klɜrk, klɑrk /

noun

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

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

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

Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, said that Heidi Pratt was registered to vote in Santa Barbara County.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

He served as a law clerk on the Second U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

The Los Angeles city clerk declined to provide information on Pratt’s residence, saying that candidates’ addresses are confirmed when they file, but can remain confidential.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

He did his National Service in the RAF - where he learned spy skills including photography, flying and scuba-diving - before working for brief periods as a railway clerk and an air steward.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

Booth approached the front desk, wrote a brief note, and handed it to the desk clerk, who placed it in Johnson’s mail slot.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

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