clerk

American  

[klurk, klahrk] / klɜrk, klɑrk /

noun

1. a person employed, as in an office, to keep records, file, type, or perform other general office tasks.

2. a salesclerk.

3. a person who keeps the records and performs the routine business of a court, legislature, board, etc.

4. law clerk.

5. a member of the clergy; ecclesiastic.

6. a lay person charged with various minor ecclesiastical duties.

7. Archaic.

   1. a person who is able to read, or to read and write.

   2. a scholar.

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verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a clerk.

clerk British  

/ klɜːrk, klɑːk /

noun

1. a worker, esp in an office, who keeps records, files, etc

2. (in England) a legally qualified person who sits in court with lay justices to advise them on points of law

3. an employee of a court, legislature, board, corporation, etc, who keeps records and accounts, etc

   a town clerk

4. Also called: clerk of the House.  a senior official of the House of Commons

5. Also called: clerk in holy orders.  a cleric

6. short for salesclerk

7. Also called: desk clerk.  a hotel receptionist

8. archaic a scholar

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verb

1. (intr) to serve as a clerk

Other Word Forms

• clerkdom noun
• clerkish adjective
• clerklike adjective
• clerkship noun
• outclerk noun
• subclerk noun
• subclerkship noun
• underclerk noun
• underclerkship noun

Etymology

Origin of clerk

before 1000; Middle English, Old English clerc, variant of cleric < Late Latin clēricus cleric

Example Sentences

Waves of Indians migrated to East Africa around that time, as teachers, clerks, merchants and indentured workers.

From The Wall Street Journal

From the moment Marty, working as a clerk in a shoe shop, helps an elderly woman find the perfect pair of pumps in the film’s opening sequence, the starpower is undeniable.

From Salon

Working as a clerk “would have been the equivalent of today’s young woman of color being the first in her family to enter college,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

“Who wants to come over here and stay in town when it’s raining cats and dogs?” said Hart, a recently retired supermarket clerk, her hands still shaking a week later.

From The Wall Street Journal

He soon went from store clerk to regional distributor, quickly gaining a reputation as a sharp dealmaker.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agent
• auditor
• bookkeeper
• cashier
• employee
• operator
• receptionist
• salesperson
• secretary
• teller
• worker