reader

noun

read·​er ˈrē-dər 

1

a

: one that reads

a magazine with three million readers

b

: one appointed to read to others: such as

(1)

: lector

(2)

: one chosen to read aloud selected material in a Christian Science church or society

c(1)

: proofreader

(2)

: one who evaluates manuscripts

(3)

: one who reads periodical literature to discover items of special interest or value

d

: an employee who reads and records the indications of meters

e

: a teacher's assistant who reads and marks student papers

2

British : one who reads lectures or expounds subjects to students

3

a

: a device for projecting a readable image of a transparency

b

: an electronic device that can display text (as that of a book or magazine)

c

: an electronic device that scans coded information (as on credit cards or bar codes) for storage or computation

4

a

: a book for instruction and practice especially in reading

b

: anthology

5

readers plural : eyeglasses used for reading or close work : reading glasses

Gilda came back with a pair of readers and, looking through her glasses, gave my eyelids serious consideration.

—Jeanne Ray

Synonyms of reader

• compilation
• anthology

Examples of reader in a Sentence

The book's ending leaves readers to draw their own conclusions.

a magazine with three million readers

Recent Examples on the Web

Greene worries that rising prices and the disappearance of mass-market paperbacks could create a future where fewer readers take chances on unfamiliar authors. —Josh Rivera, USA Today, 14 June 2026

This book helps remind readers that there’re so many different ways to understand and navigate the world and our own perception is just one. —Esther K. Choy, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

The experience of the book, then, is to commune with a singular mind turning his gaze on the dog, the world and himself as a way to conjure complementary and contradictory thoughts in the reader. —John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026

Heuermann has been a voracious reader in jail, but Toulon said the inmate’s preference for violent crime and mystery novels -- some about serial killers -- concerns him. —ABC News, 13 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing reader

• e-reader
• lay reader
• mind reader

Rhymes for reader

• bleeder
• breeder
• feeder
• leader
• lieder
• meader
• pleader
• reeder
• seeder
• weeder
• cheerleader
• proofreader

Kids Definition

reader

noun

read·​er ˈrēd-ər 

1

: a person who reads

2

a

: a device that makes a readable image

a microfilm reader

b

: a machine for acquiring data (as for a computer)

a card reader

3

: a book for learning or practicing reading