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

In 1864, James Clerk Maxwell, one of the towering figures of 19th-century science, published a theory of electromagnetism, unifying the two forces, now known as “Maxwell’s Equations.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, said this also applies to candidates.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

It refers to the search of the office of the Clerk of the Court at 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Rd., in Union City, Ga., where Fulton county’s Election Hub and Operation Center is located.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

On Sunday, a statement will be read to all congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland on behalf of Rev Dr David Allen, the Acting Clerk of the General Assembly.

From BBC • Nov. 16, 2025

Did the City Clerk, who verified Mr. Evans's testimony, get a break in sentencing?

From "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers

Related Words

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