reader

American  

[ree-der] / ˈri dər /

noun

• readers
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonreader
  noun
• subreader
  noun
• underreader
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• readers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reader

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

Explanation

A person who reads, whether they love to read or simply are able to read, is a reader. If you're a fan of a particular author, you're also one of her readers. If you write children's books, you need to keep your readers in mind as you tackle difficult topics or use complicated language. Your readers are all the kids who will be reading the words you write. Another type of reader checks manuscripts for typos, or decides if they're good enough to be published as a book or in a magazine. Students who are learning to read sometimes use a book called a reader for practicing reading skills.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reader readers

This week Quentin Fottrell — aka The Moneyist — helped a reader who was bearing the main burden for caring for her mother, and having mixed feelings about it.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

I drove down Hope Street, south of 12th Street, because a reader who lives in that area and has told me about repeated fires at abandoned properties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

When the EBT card is swiped, the fake reader scans and copies the information stored on the magnetic stripe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Cruise avoids the personal by making his work inextricable from his life, thereby asking the reader to perform a clever thought exercise: What if Tom Cruise were telling the truth?

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

The specifics of the prayer were always different, for Father—who loved science—was an avid reader of a dozen university journals.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Waller said in an interview after the presentation that misinformation about the cameras is rampant online, and he called automated license plate readers a helpful and natural improvement in policing.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Naturally good readers of a room and skilled at misdirection, comedians can inject some comic relief into those tense roundtable moments.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

One wonders why the author makes such rigid pronouncements, as if fearing readers will judge Clara for having a beating heart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Because you create such vibrant visuals for your readers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

His name was Dirk Pitt, and in more than twenty-five best-selling books, Cussler kept readers wondering how Pitt would ever get out of his latest seemingly impossible situation.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler