registrar

American  

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

noun

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

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

County Registrar office is led by Dean Logan, who previously oversaw Washington state’s King County elections at the time of a contentious recount in the 2004 governor’s race.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

County Registrar data, which showed Pratt receiving thousands of votes in every single update.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

In Orange County, by contrast, data so far indicate that voters are not waiting, the Registrar of Voters office said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

In its last annual report, the Office of the Superintendent Registrar highlighted a 22% rise in Register Office weddings.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025

But Branwell didn’t want me to run his father down any more than Margaret wanted me to razz The Registrar.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg