town clerk

American  

noun

1. a town official who keeps records and issues licenses.

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town clerk British  

noun

1. (in Britain until 1974) the secretary and chief administrative officer of a town or city

2. (in the US) the official who keeps the records of a town

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Etymology

Origin of town clerk

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

Inside the Sergeantsville Inn, Shawn Lawson, the town ice-cream maker, sat next to Kathy Klink, a retired elementary school teacher and former town clerk, and Jacqueline Haut Evans, an artist and real-estate agent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

"It could very well have been us, had it been a few years ago," said Odile Angeloz, a 40-year-old town clerk.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

Carrillo worked as a town clerk to learn the mechanics of local government, then unsuccessfully applied for an open council seat in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2024

The council's deputy town clerk, Clair Davis, believed it was an "April fool's prank published too late".

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2024

They were little tiny frogs, and Miss Farley, the town clerk, drank two or three of them off the top of the bubbler by mistake.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson