Read definition | Dictionary.com

read

1 [reed]

verb, read [red]

, read⋅ing [ree-ding]

, noun

Use Read in a Sentence

–verb (used with object)

1.	to look at carefully so as to understand the meaning of (something written, printed, etc.): to read a book; to read music.

2.	to utter aloud or render in speech (something written, printed, etc.): reading a story to his children; The actor read his lines in a booming voice.

3.	to have such knowledge of (a language) as to be able to understand things written in it: to be able to read French.

4.	to apprehend the meaning of (signs, characters, etc.) otherwise than with the eyes, as by means of the fingers: to read Braille.

5.	to apprehend or interpret the meaning of (gestures, movements, signals, or the like): to read a semaphore; to read sign language.

6.	to make out the significance of by scrutiny or observation: to read the cloudy sky as the threat of a storm; a fisherman skilled in reading a stream for potential pools.

7.	to anticipate, expect, or calculate by observation: At the line of scrimmage, the quarterback read a blitz and called an audible.

8.	to foresee, foretell, or predict: to read a person's fortune in tea leaves.

9.	to make out the character, motivations, desires, etc., of (a person or persons), as by the interpretation of outward signs.

10.	to interpret or attribute a meaning to (a written text), a musical composition, etc.): How do you read this clause in the contract?

11.	to infer (something not expressed or directly indicated) from what is read, considered, or observed: He read an underlying sarcasm into her letter. In your silence I read agreement to my plan.

12.	to adopt or give as a reading in a particular passage: For “one thousand” another version reads “ten thousand.”

13.	to substitute or replace (a particular word or phrase) in a written text, usually to correct an error: Read “cavalry” for “calvary.”

14.	to check (printers' proofs, copy, etc.) for errors; proofread.

15.	to register or indicate, as a thermometer, clock, etc.

16.	Computers. to obtain (data, programs, or control information) from an external storage medium or some other source and place in memory.

17.	British. to study (a subject), as at a university: to read law.

18.	to read the work of (an author): She is reading Kafka.

19.	to learn by or as if by reading: to read a person's thoughts.

20.	to hear and understand (a transmitted radio message or the person transmitting it); receive: I read you loud and clear.

21.	to bring, put, etc., by reading: to read oneself to sleep.

22.	to give one (a lecture or lesson) by way of admonition or rebuke.

23.	to discover or explain the meaning of (a riddle, dream, etc.).

–verb (used without object)

24.	to read or peruse written or printed matter.

25.	to utter aloud or render in speech written or printed words that one is perusing: to read to a person.

26.	to give a public reading or recital.

27.	to inspect and apprehend the meaning of written or other signs or characters.

28.	to occupy oneself seriously with reading or study.

29.	to obtain knowledge or learn of something by reading.

30.	to admit of being read, esp. properly or well.

31.	to have a certain wording.

32.	to admit of being interpreted: a rule that reads in two different ways.

33.	to register or indicate particular information, as the status or condition of something: Her blood pressure is reading a little low today.

34.	to have an effect or make an impression; show forth: Those battle photographs read with great impact.

35.	Computers. to read data, programs, or control information.

–noun

36.	an act or instance of reading: Give the agreement a careful read before you sign it.

37.	something that is read: Her new novel is a wonderful read.

—Verb phrases

38.	read in, Computers. to place (data, programs, or control information) in memory.

39.

read out,

a.	to read aloud, as for someone's attention.

b.	Computers. to retrieve (information) from a computer.

40.	read out of, to oust from membership in (a political party or other group) by a public announcement of dismissal: He was read out of the association because of alleged subversive activities.

41.	read up on, to learn about by reading; gather information on; research by reading: You'd better read up on World War I before taking the history test.

—Idioms

42.	read between the lines. line ¹ (def. 81).

43.	read for, (of an actor) to audition for (a role, a play, etc.).

44.	read lips, to study the lip movements of a speaker who cannot be heard so as to determine the words being uttered.

45.	read the green. Golf. green (def. 30).

46.	read the riot act. Riot Act (def. 2).

Origin:
bef. 900; ME reden, OE rǣdan to counsel, read; c. D raden, G raten, ON rātha; akin to Skt rādhnoti (he) achieves

Synonyms:
1. peruse, scan, note, study.

read

2 [red]

–adjective

having knowledge gained by reading (usually used in combination): a well-read person.

Origin:
1580–90; ptp. of read ¹

Read

[reed]

–noun

1.	George, 1733–98, American political leader: served in the Continental Congress 1774–77.

2.	Sir Herbert, 1893–1968, English critic and poet.

3.	a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “red.”

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Read

read (rēd)

v. read (rěd), read·ing, reads

v. tr.

To examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed characters, words, or sentences).
To utter or render aloud (written or printed material): read poems to the students.
To have the ability to examine and grasp the meaning of (written or printed material in a given language or notation): reads Chinese; reads music.
1. To examine and grasp the meaning of (language in a form other than written or printed characters, words, or sentences): reading Braille; reading sign language.
2. To examine and grasp the meaning of (a graphic representation): reading a map.
3. To discern and interpret the nature or significance of through close examination or sensitive observation: The tracker read the trail for signs of game.
4. To discern or anticipate through examination or observation; descry: "I can read abandonment in a broken door or shattered window" (William H. Gass).
5. To attribute a certain interpretation or meaning to: read her words differently than I did.
6. To consider (something written or printed) as having a particular meaning or significance: read the novel as a parable.
1. To discern and interpret the nature or significance of through close examination or sensitive observation: The tracker read the trail for signs of game.
2. To discern or anticipate through examination or observation; descry: "I can read abandonment in a broken door or shattered window" (William H. Gass).
3. To attribute a certain interpretation or meaning to: read her words differently than I did.
4. To consider (something written or printed) as having a particular meaning or significance: read the novel as a parable.
To determine the intent or mood of: can read your mind like a book; a hard person to read.
1. To attribute a certain interpretation or meaning to: read her words differently than I did.
2. To consider (something written or printed) as having a particular meaning or significance: read the novel as a parable.
To foretell or predict (the future).
To receive or comprehend (a radio message, for example): I read you loud and clear.
To study or make a study of: read history as an undergraduate.
To learn or get knowledge of from something written or printed: read that interest rates would continue to rise.
To proofread.
To have or use as a preferred reading in a particular passage: For change read charge.
To indicate, register, or show: The dial reads 32°.
Computer Science To obtain (data) from a storage medium, such as a magnetic disk.
Genetics To decode or translate a sequence of messenger RNA into an amino acid sequence in a polypeptide chain.

v. intr.

To examine and grasp the meaning of printed or written characters, as of words or music.
To speak aloud the words that one is reading: read to the children every night.
To learn by reading: read about the storm in the paper today.
To study.
To have a particular wording: Recite the poem exactly as it reads.
To contain a specific meaning: As the law reads, the defendant is guilty.
To indicate, register, or show a measurement or figure: How does your new watch read?
To have a specified character or quality for the reader: Your poems read well.

n. Informal
Something that is read: "The book is a page-turner as well as a very satisfying read" (Frank Conroy).
adj. (rěd)
Informed by reading; learned: only sparsely read in fields outside my profession.
Phrasal Verb(s):
read outTo read aloud: Please read out the names on the list.
read upTo study or learn by reading: Read up on the places you plan to visit before you travel.

Idiom(s):
read a lecture/lessonTo issue a reprimand: My parents read me a lecture because I had neglected my chores.

Idiom(s):
read between the linesTo perceive or detect an obscure or unexpressed meaning: learned to read between the lines of corporate annual reports to discern areas of fiscal weakness.

Idiom(s):
read out ofTo expel by proclamation from a social, political, or other group: was read out of the secretariat after the embarrassing incident.

[Middle English reden, from Old English rǣdan, to advise; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: English is the one of the few western European languages that does not derive its verb for "to read" from Latin legere. Compare, for example, leggere in Italian, lire in French, and lesen in German. (Equally surprising is the fact that English is the only western European language not to derive its verb for "to write" from Latin scrībere.) Read comes from the Old English verb rǣdan, "to advise, interpret (something difficult), interpret (something written), read." Rǣdan is related to the German verb raten, "to advise" (as in Rathaus, "townhall"). The Old English noun rǣd, "counsel," survives in the rare noun rede, "counsel, advice" and in the name of the unfortunate King Ethelred the Unready, whose epithet is often misunderstood. Unready here does not have its current sense "unprepared"; it is a late 16th-century spelling of an earlier unredy, "ill advised, rash, foolish," from rede.

Read (rēd)

American Revolutionary leader, politician, and jurist. Delaware's delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787), he championed the rights of small states and later served as a U.S. senator (1789-1793).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Read

Read\, n. Rennet. See 3d Reed. [Prov. Eng.]

Read

Read\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Read; p. pr. & vb. n. Reading.] [OE. reden, r[ae]den, AS. r[=ae]dan to read, advice, counsel, fr. r[=ae]d advise, counsel, r[=ae]dan (imperf. reord) to advice, counsel, guess; akin to D. raden to advise, G. raten, rathen, Icel. r[=a][eth]a, Goth. r[=e]dan (in comp.), and perh. also to Skr. r[=a]dh to succeed. [root]116. Cf. Riddle.]

1. To advise; to counsel. [Obs.] See Rede.

Therefore, I read thee, get to God's word, and thereby try all doctrine. --Tyndale.

2. To interpret; to explain; as, to read a riddle.

3. To tell; to declare; to recite. [Obs.]

But read how art thou named, and of what kin. --Spenser.

4. To go over, as characters or words, and utter aloud, or recite to one's self inaudibly; to take in the sense of, as of language, by interpreting the characters with which it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book.

Redeth [read ye] the great poet of Itaille. --Chaucer.

Well could he rede a lesson or a story. --Chaucer.

5. Hence, to know fully; to comprehend.

Who is't can read a woman? --Shak.

6. To discover or understand by characters, marks, features, etc.; to learn by observation.

An armed corse did lie, In whose dead face he read great magnanimity. --Spenser.

Those about her From her shall read the perfect ways of honor. --Shak.

7. To make a special study of, as by perusing textbooks; as, to read theology or law.

To read one's self in, to read about the Thirty-nine Articles and the Declaration of Assent, -- required of a clergyman of the Church of England when he first officiates in a new benefice.

Read

Read\, v. t. 1. To give advice or counsel. [Obs.]

2. To tell; to declare. [Obs.] --Spenser.

3. To perform the act of reading; to peruse, or to go over and utter aloud, the words of a book or other like document.

So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense. --Neh. viii. 8.

4. To study by reading; as, he read for the bar.

5. To learn by reading.

I have read of an Eastern king who put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence. --Swift.

6. To appear in writing or print; to be expressed by, or consist of, certain words or characters; as, the passage reads thus in the early manuscripts.

7. To produce a certain effect when read; as, that sentence reads queerly.

To read between the lines, to infer something different from what is plainly indicated; to detect the real meaning as distinguished from the apparent meaning.

Read

Read\, n. [AS. r[=ae]d counsel, fr. r[=ae]dan to counsel. See Read, v. t.]

1. Saying; sentence; maxim; hence, word; advice; counsel. See Rede. [Obs.]

2. [Read, v.] Reading. [Colloq.] --Hume.

One newswoman here lets magazines for a penny a read. --Furnivall.

Read

Read\, imp. & p. p. of Read, v. t. & i.

Read

Read\, a. Instructed or knowing by reading; versed in books; learned.

A poet . . . well read in Longinus. --Addison.

Language Translation for : Read

Spanish: leer,

German: lesen,

Japanese: 読む

More Translations »

read

O.E. rædan (W.Saxon), redan (Anglian) "to explain, read, rule, advise" (related to ræd, red "advice"), from P.Gmc. *raedanan (cf. O.N. raða, O.Fris. reda, Du. raden, O.H.G. ratan, Ger. raten "to advise, counsel, guess"), from PIE base *rei- "to reason, count" (cf. Skt. radh- "to succeed, accomplish," Gk. arithmos "number amount," O.C.S. raditi "to take thought, attend to," O.Ir. im-radim "to deliberate, consider"). Connected to riddle via notion of "interpret." Words from this root in most modern Gmc. languages still mean "counsel, advise." Transference to "understand the meaning of written symbols" is unique to O.E. and (perhaps under Eng. influence) O.N. raða. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for "read" (cf. Fr. lire, from L. legere). Sense of "make out the character of (a person)" is attested from 1611. The noun meaning "an act of reading" is recorded from 1825. Read up "study" is from 1842; read-only in computer jargon is recorded from 1961. O.E. ræda "advise, counsel" is in the name of Anglo-Saxon king Æðelræd II (968-1016), lit. "good counsel," and in his epithet Unræd, usually rendered into Mod.Eng. as Unready, but really meaning "no-counsel." Rede "counsel" survived in poetic usage to 17c. An attempted revival by Scott (19c.) failed, though it is used in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."

read

In addition to the idioms beginning with read, also see do you read me; open book, read like an.

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