reader

American  

[ree-der] / ˈri dər /

noun

1. a person who reads.

2. a schoolbook for instruction and practice in reading.

   a second-grade reader.

3. a book of collected or assorted writings, especially when related in theme, authorship, or instructive purpose; anthology.

   a Hemingway reader; a sci-fi reader.

4. a person employed to read and evaluate manuscripts offered for publication.

5. a proofreader.

6. a person who reads or recites before an audience; elocutionist.

7. a person authorized to read the lessons, Bible, etc., in a church service.

8. a lecturer or instructor, especially in some British universities.

   to be appointed reader in English history.

9. an assistant to a professor, who grades examinations, papers, etc.

10. Computers. a device that reads data, programs, or control information from an external storage medium for transmission to main storage.

11. a machine or device that projects or enlarges a microform image on a screen or other surface for reading.

12. a playing card marked on its back so that the suit or denomination of the card can be identified.

13. Library Science. the user of a library; library patron.

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reader British  

/ ˈriːdə /

noun

1. a person who reads

2. a person who is fond of reading

3. 1. at a university, a member of staff having a position between that of a senior lecturer and a professor

   2. a teaching assistant in a faculty who grades papers, examinations, etc, on behalf of a professor

4. 1. a book that is part of a planned series for those learning to read

   2. a standard textbook, esp for foreign-language learning

5. a person who reads aloud in public

6. a person who reads and assesses the merit of manuscripts submitted to a publisher

7. a person employed to read proofs and indicate errors by comparison with the original copy; proofreader

8. short for lay reader

9. Judaism another word for cantor

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Other Word Forms

• nonreader noun
• subreader noun
• underreader noun

Etymology

Origin of reader

before 1000; Middle English reder ( e ), redar ( e ), Old English rǣdere. See read ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

In response to the reader last week who was wondering why so many All-Area basketball players are leaving L.A. for other colleges: Mick Cronin.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Advice from a MarketWatch reader: ‘I was shoveling sidewalks at 8 years old’: I’m a 73-year-old boomer dad with two kids.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

As the late Justice Antonin Scalia stressed, legislative floor explanations are weak evidence for the core originalist question: How would a contemporary informed reader interpret the words as enacted?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

After this wind-up, the reader might expect Gorsuch to declare that Colorado’s law does not pass strict scrutiny and therefore violates the First Amendment.

From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026

Now, gentle reader, I had promised not to interrupt—but I could tell you were nervous.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman