reader

American  

[ree-der] / ˈri dər /

noun

1. a person who reads.

2. a schoolbook for instruction and practice in reading.

   a second-grade reader.

3. a book of collected or assorted writings, especially when related in theme, authorship, or instructive purpose; anthology.

   a Hemingway reader; a sci-fi reader.

4. a person employed to read and evaluate manuscripts offered for publication.

5. a proofreader.

6. a person who reads or recites before an audience; elocutionist.

7. a person authorized to read the lessons, Bible, etc., in a church service.

8. a lecturer or instructor, especially in some British universities.

   to be appointed reader in English history.

9. an assistant to a professor, who grades examinations, papers, etc.

10. Computers. a device that reads data, programs, or control information from an external storage medium for transmission to main storage.

11. a machine or device that projects or enlarges a microform image on a screen or other surface for reading.

12. a playing card marked on its back so that the suit or denomination of the card can be identified.

13. Library Science. the user of a library; library patron.

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reader British  

/ ˈriːdə /

noun

1. a person who reads

2. a person who is fond of reading

3. 1. at a university, a member of staff having a position between that of a senior lecturer and a professor

   2. a teaching assistant in a faculty who grades papers, examinations, etc, on behalf of a professor

4. 1. a book that is part of a planned series for those learning to read

   2. a standard textbook, esp for foreign-language learning

5. a person who reads aloud in public

6. a person who reads and assesses the merit of manuscripts submitted to a publisher

7. a person employed to read proofs and indicate errors by comparison with the original copy; proofreader

8. short for lay reader

9. Judaism another word for cantor

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Other Word Forms

• nonreader noun
• subreader noun
• underreader noun

Etymology

Origin of reader

before 1000; Middle English reder ( e ), redar ( e ), Old English rǣdere. See read ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, a starred review in Library Journal praised its “deft prose” noting, “This is a book readers will be eager to talk about.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Ms. Ivey’s understated handling of grief leaves readers with a quiet truth: The experience of loss is beyond our control, but the choice of how we offer—and receive—love belongs entirely to us.

From The Wall Street Journal

The reader itches to learn more about the enormous figure.

From The Wall Street Journal

It begins: “And after all the weather was ideal,” plunging the reader headfirst into the collision between preparations for a party and funeral preparations for a young man killed in an accident.

From The Wall Street Journal

Such claims may be provocative even to readers favorably inclined to the book’s other arguments.

From The Wall Street Journal