registrar

American  

[rej-uh-strahr, rej-uh-strahr] / ˈrɛdʒ əˌstrɑr, ˌrɛdʒ əˈstrɑr /

noun

• registrars
  plural

1. a person who keeps a record; an official recorder.

2. an agent of a bank, trust company, or other corporation who is responsible for certifying and registering issues of securities.

3. an official at a school or college who maintains students' personal and academic records, issues reports of grades, mails out official publications, etc.

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registrar British  

/ ˌrɛdʒɪˈstrɑː, ˈrɛdʒɪˌstrɑː /

noun

1. a person who keeps official records

2. an administrative official responsible for student records, enrolment procedure, etc, in a school, college, or university

3. a hospital doctor senior to a houseman but junior to a consultant, specializing in either medicine ( medical registrar ) or surgery ( surgical registrar )

4. the chief medical administrator of a large hospital

5. a person employed by a company to maintain a register of its security issues

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• registrarship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• registrars
  plural

Etymology

Origin of registrar

1350–1400; alteration ( see -ar ²) of earlier registrary < Medieval Latin registrārius ( register, -ary ); replacing earlier registrer, Middle English registrer < Anglo-French ( Old French registreur ) < Medieval Latin registrātor, equivalent to registrā ( re ) to register + -tor -tor

Explanation

A registrar is the head of a university's record-keeping department. It's the job of the registrar to keep track of class schedules and a record of students' grades. At a college or university, the registrar is the person who's responsible for keeping accurate records of classes, students, and grades. You might visit the registrar if your schedule needs to be changed, or when you want a copy of your transcript to send to a graduate school or for a fellowship application. Registrar comes from the Medieval Latin registrarius, "one who keeps a record,"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

registrar registrars

He will be out of office in January after losing the June primary to Joanna Francescut, a longtime assistant registrar whom he had fired.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

His sentencing hearing was told forms used to monitor and record burials and cremations had not been returned and, according to the prosecution, "not followed up by the assigned registrar".

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

Jesse Salinas, the voter registrar, assessor, and clerk-recorder of California’s Yolo County who serves as president of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said there is a tradeoff between speed and security.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

“She asked if I could get a registrar of voters to come to her assisted-living facility and register the people living there,” Berkley said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

The registrar looks from me to Sunny, studying my sister's stubborn body language for a long minute.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

Curtis was appointed by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors last year after two previous registrars resigned.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Both registrars thought they could finish the job in time to certify the county’s presidential election results by the Dec. 3 deadline.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2024

For example, county registrars contact anyone who has marked on a jury summons that they’re not a citizen.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024

"For years I've been meaning to write to the church and the registrars," Lorna says, "because they're just as bad".

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2024

Reese explained that the teachers had asked the board of registrars to set aside a day each week for employees of the public schools to register as voters.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman