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proofread

[proof-reed]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR proofread ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), proof·read [proof-red] /ˈprufˌrɛd/, proof·read·ing [proof-ree-ding] /ˈprufˌri dɪŋ/.

to read (printers' proofs, copy, etc.) in order to detect and mark errors to be corrected.

verb (used without object), proof·read [proof-red] /ˈprufˌrɛd/, proof·read·ing [proof-ree-ding] /ˈprufˌri dɪŋ/.

to read printers' proofs, copy, etc., to detect and mark errors, especially as an employee of a typesetting firm, newspaper office, or publishing house.

Origin of proofread

1930–35; back formation from proofreader (see proof, read1)
Related formsproof·read·er, nounun·proof·read [uhn-proof-red] /ʌnˈprufˌrɛd/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for proofreader

copyreader, newspaperwoman, copyholder, newspaperman, reviser, deskman, bookworm, bibliophile, editor, lecturer, scholar, anthology, primer, reciter, lector, elocutionist, bibliomaniac, peruser

Examples from the Web for proofreader

Historical Examples of proofreader

  • Is that not the business of the author, the editor, and the proofreader?

    Punctuation

    Frederick W. Hamilton

  • If any questions are to be raised they should be discussed by the proofreader with the author.

    Punctuation

    Frederick W. Hamilton

  • W R fired three copyboys and a proofreader he was so mad at himself.

  • The proofreader on a paper of large circulation is an example.

    The Book of Courage

    John Thomson Faris

  • Any questions which then arise lie between the author and the proofreader.

    Division of Words

    Frederick W. Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for proofreader

proofread

verb -reads, -reading or -read (-ˌrɛd)

to read (copy or printer's proofs) to detect and mark errors to be corrected
Derived Formsproofreader, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for proofreader
n.

also proof-reader, 1808, from proof (n.) in the typographical sense + reader.

proofread

v.

also proof-read, 1878, back-formation from proofreader. Related: Proofread; Proofreading.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper