reader

[ ree-der ]

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. Compare optical character reader.
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.

reader

/ 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

Other Words From

• non·reader noun
• sub·reader noun
• under·reader noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of reader¹

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

Example Sentences

And when in Venice, he warned readers regretfully, “Stay away from gondolas; they cost as much as $3 an hour!”

From New York Times

A facile “Prophecy” reader might joke that the channel is substituting spaceships for dragons.

From Salon

I will try to inform, entertain and most of all, make the readers’ couple of minutes of interaction here a positive one.

From Los Angeles Times

It would be a shame to rob a reader of the experience of watching Kapadia shed her film’s skin, reinventing in an entirely new register.

From Los Angeles Times

On the professional front, I’ve been doing my own analysis of the election, writing to a great community of readers on my “White Too Long” Substack newsletter.

From Salon