record

Record means to set something down or preserve it in a way that keeps permanent evidence of it. Record is also used to refer to the writing or document that is the preserved account of something. Record is also an achievement that is the best or highest amount. Record has several other senses as a verb and a noun.

Record means to somehow preserve a note or evidence of something so that it can be consulted later or prove that something actually existed. When you write down the time that you did something, you are recording it. When you film a birthday party, you are also recording it. Music producers record a singer’s or band’s studio performance of a song using audio equipment. When used as a verb, record is pronounced [ ri-kawrd ], with emphasis on the second syllable.

• Real-life examples: Police detectives record details about crimes and crime scenes. Cameras record news events, sports, and television programs to be viewed later.
• Used in a sentence: The journalist recorded the mayor’s statements in her notepad.

Related to this sense, record is used to refer to the resulting document, file, or other object that proves something existed or contains information that a person recorded. When used as a noun or adjective, record is pronounced [ rek-erd ], with the emphasis on the first syllable.

• Real-life examples: Schools have records of students’ grades on a computer or as documents in a filing cabinet. Police keep records of all of the crimes they have worked on, people they have arrested, and many other events. The government has detailed records of what it spends tax money on.
• Used in a sentence: I keep a record of all of the toys I have bought so that I know which ones are missing from my collection. 

Record is also used to mean an achievement that is the best, highest amount, or otherwise worth keeping track of. A person may also use this sense sarcastically or as an exaggeration.

• Real-life examples: Robert Wadlow holds the record for the tallest man who ever lived (8 feet 11.1 inches). Blackie the cat set the record for world’s wealthiest cat when it inherited $12.5 million from its owner in 1988. Guinness World Records is a company that publishes information considered to be the official documentation of impressive (or weird) records that people have set.
• Used in a sentence: My boss is trying to set the record for worst manager ever.

The first records of the verb record come from around 1175. It ultimately comes from the Latin recordārī, meaning “to remember” or “to recollect.” The first records of the noun record come from around 1325. It ultimately comes from the Old French recorder.

What are some other forms related to record?

• recorder (noun)
• recording (noun, present tense verb)
• recordable (adjective)
• recordless (adjective)
• unrecordable (adjective)
• well-recorded (adjective)

What are some synonyms for record?

• copy
• document
• file
• evidence
• note
• accomplishment
• achievement

What are some words that share a root or word element with record? 

• recorder
• recording
• recordkeeping
• recordholder
• off the record
• break the record

What are some words that often get used in discussing record?

• computer
• criminal
• permanent
• world
• player
• music

Record is a very common word that most often means to preserve documentation or evidence of something.

I got a bill. It's by hourly rate. I've recorded the hours dude was here. Huge discrepancy between my and his records. *sigh*

— Swanny (@YoSwanny) October 20, 2011

If twitter kept a record of every typo you’ve ever had how many do you think you would have? I’d easily have THOUSANDS

— Kid Conrad (@KidConrad) May 22, 2020

Phillip Brooks now has the record for most punt return yardage in a single game by a K-State player. He has 189 yards, surpassing the 172 yards by David Allen in 1998.

— Ryan Black (@RyanABlack) October 24, 2020

Which of the following is NOT a synonym of record?

A. document
B. note
C. forget
D. log