| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| off the record | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | not intended for publication or disclosure; confidential |
| —adv | |
| 2. | with such an intention; unofficially |
| record | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an account in permanent form, esp in writing, preserving knowledge or information about facts or events |
| 2. | a written account of some transaction that serves as legal evidence of the transaction |
| 3. | a written official report of the proceedings of a court of justice or legislative body, including the judgments given or enactments made |
| 4. | anything serving as evidence or as a memorial: the First World War is a record of human folly |
| 5. | (often plural) information or data on a specific subject collected methodically over a long period: weather records |
| 6. | a. the best or most outstanding amount, rate, height, etc, ever attained, as in some field of sport: an Olympic record; a world record; to break the record for the long jump |
| b. (as modifier): a record time | |
| 7. | the sum of one's recognized achievements, career, or performance: the officer has an excellent record |
| 8. | a list of crimes of which an accused person has previously been convicted, which are known to the police but may only be disclosed to a court in certain circumstances |
| 9. | have a record to be a known criminal; have a previous conviction or convictions |
| 10. | gramophone record, Also called: disc a thin disc of a plastic material upon which sound has been recorded. Each side has a spiral groove, which undulates in accordance with the frequency and amplitude of the sound. Records were formerly made from a shellac-based compound but were later made from vinyl plastics |
| 11. | the markings made by a recording instrument such as a seismograph |
| 12. | computing a group of data or piece of information preserved as a unit in machine-readable form |
| 13. | (in some computer languages) a data structure designed to allow the handling of groups of related pieces of information as though the group were a single entity |
| 14. | for the record for the sake of a strict factual account |
| 15. | go on record to state one's views publicly |
| 16. | See off the record |
| 17. | on record |
| a. stated in a public document | |
| b. publicly known | |
| 18. | put the record straight, set the record straight to correct an error or misunderstanding |
| —vb | |
| 19. | to set down in some permanent form so as to preserve the true facts of: to record the minutes of a meeting |
| 20. | to contain or serve to relate (facts, information, etc) |
| 21. | to indicate, show, or register: his face recorded his disappointment |
| 22. | to remain as or afford evidence of: these ruins record the life of the Romans in Britain |
| 23. | (also intr) to make a recording of (music, speech, etc) for reproduction, or for later broadcasting |
| 24. | (also intr) (of an instrument) to register or indicate (information) on a scale: the barometer recorded a low pressure |
| [C13: from Old French recorder to call to mind, from Latin recordārī to remember, from | |
| re'cordable | |
| —adj | |
record re·cord (rĭ-kôrd')
v. re·cord·ed, re·cord·ing, re·cords
To set down for preservation in writing or other permanent form.
To register or indicate.
An account, as of information or facts, set down especially in writing as a means of preserving knowledge.
A medical record.
In dentistry, a registration of desired jaw relations in a plastic material or on a device so that such relations may be transferred to an articulator.
The known history of performance, activities, or achievement.
A collection of related, often adjacent items of computer data, treated as a unit.
off the record
Unofficially, in confidence, not for publication, as in What he was about to say, he told the reporters, was strictly off the record. Probably alluding to striking evidence from a court record (because it is irrelevant or improper), this term came into wide use in the mid-1900s, especially with reference to persons who did not wish to be quoted by journalists. For antonyms, see go on record; just for the record.