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.

---

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

---

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

If there isn’t at least one “Slow news day?” in the reader comments, I’ve failed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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

To the general reader, the sentence might seem obscure and may have been so intended.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

For their youngest child, maternity notes came in an app which could be accessed with a screen reader on their phone, rather than being handwritten in the traditional NHS blue book.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

But it is the realm of Peace, dear reader, where most snakes belong.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

His books on New York City planner Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson function as both biography and challenge, their hefty page counts daring readers to dive in.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

“When readers started finding it online and creating and expanding the universe of it, it gave me permission to go back to it,” Awad reflects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

His aim is to train readers to adopt “an exceptional mindset,” which involves acting “in unexpected and counterintuitive ways that truly reflect our values and advance our goals.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

"It's keep calm and carry on" says the Metro readers today as Kate, the Princess of Wales, is pictured happily playing shinty while on a trip to Scotland with Prince William.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

I find I think of myself not as a writer so much as someone who provides a gateway, a tangential route for readers to reach the circus.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern