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Synonyms

recorder

American  
[ri-kawr-der] / rɪˈkɔr dər /

noun

  1. a person who records, especially as an official duty.

  2. English Law.

    1. a judge in a city or borough court.

    2. (formerly) the legal adviser of a city or borough, with responsibility for keeping a record of legal actions and local customs.

  3. a recording or registering apparatus or device.

  4. a device for recording sound, images, or data by electrical, magnetic, or optical means.

  5. an end-blown flute having a fipple mouthpiece, eight finger holes, and a soft, mellow tone.

recorder British  
/ rɪˈkɔːdə /

noun

  1. a person who records, such as an official or historian

  2. something that records, esp an apparatus that provides a permanent record of experiments, etc

  3. short for tape recorder

  4. music a wind instrument of the flute family, blown through a fipple in the mouth end, having a reedlike quality of tone. There are four usual sizes: bass, tenor, treble, and descant

  5. (in England) a barrister or solicitor of at least ten years' standing appointed to sit as a part-time judge in the crown court

"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
recorder Cultural  

  1. A wooden flute played like a whistle. It was popular in the fourteenth through eighteenth centuries. Interest in it has been revived over the past few decades.

Other Word Forms

  • recordership noun

Etymology

Origin of recorder

1275–1325; Middle English recorder wind instrument ( record, -er 1 ), recordour legal official (< Anglo-French recordour, Old French recordeour )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In February, the honorary recorder of Nottingham Nirmal Shant KC wrote to court staff: "We have had several issues with our heating and with leaks in the court building."

From BBC • Jan. 3, 2026

In “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” for example, the guitar tech Mike Batlan plays a prominent role, as does the four-track home recorder that Springsteen used to record “Nebraska.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

Turkish authorities found the cockpit voice recorder and black box from a private jet that crashed Wednesday killing the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

“Kissinger” teases viewers with an animated credit sequence prominently featuring a tape recorder.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

The tape recorder is still talking, like a third person trying to keep the conversation alive.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.