reading

noun

read·ing | \ ˈrē-diŋ

Definition of reading

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : the act of reading

2a : material read or for reading

b : extent of material read

3a : a particular version

b : data indicated by an instrument

4a : a particular interpretation of something (such as a law)

b : a particular performance of something (such as a musical work)

5 : an indication of a certain state of affairs a study to get some reading of shoppers' preferences

Reading

biographical name

Read·ing | \ ˈre-diŋ

Definition of Reading (Entry 2 of 3)

1st Marquis of 1860-1935 Rufus Daniel Isaacs British statesman; viceroy of India (1921-26)

Reading

geographical name

Read·ing | \ ˈre-diŋ

Definition of Reading (Entry 3 of 3)

1 town in eastern Massachusetts north of Boston population 24,747

2 city on the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania population 88,082

3 town on the Thames River in southern England that is the capital of Berkshire population 219,000

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about reading

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Examples of reading in a Sentence

Noun

The family attended the reading of her will. The speech ended with a reading from his latest novel. After several readings, I finally understood the meaning of the poem. He needs help in reading. The teacher gave us a list of books for further reading on the subject. He has done a lot of reading on this subject. The reading for today is about human cloning. Moby-Dick is required reading for any scholar of 19th-century American literature. The pastor selected a reading for tonight's service.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

One night in a classroom reading and talking through counter-steering, equipment requirements, typical causes of collisions and how to avoid them. — Chuck Tannert, Popular Mechanics, "Here's How to Learn to Ride a Motorcycle and Get Your Motorcycle License," 7 Feb. 2019 Most students had lacked basic reading and math skills at the start of the program. — Meagan Neal, Vox, "It’s hard to design good policies. This simple idea can help governments do it.," 21 Dec. 2018 The airline didn’t respond to requests to verify a document purporting to be a Lion Air maintenance report, dated Sunday, that described inaccurate airspeed and altitude readings after takeoff. — Stephen Wright, The Seattle Times, "Previous flight of crashed Lion Air jet terrified passengers," 30 Oct. 2018 The council took up the ordinance on first reading and is to have a second reading and final vote July 23. — David Ibata, ajc, "Roswell advances ‘Sunday brunch’ alcohol serving," 13 July 2018 In another case, employees of Edison Software, another Gmail developer that makes a mobile app for reading and organizing email, personally reviewed the emails of hundreds of users to build a new feature, says Mikael Berner, the company’s CEO. — Fox News, "Tech's 'dirty secret': App developers are sifting through your Gmail," 4 July 2018 At the Orlando Sentinel’s request, educators from Florida colleges and school districts reviewed textbooks and workbooks from these publishers, looking at elementary reading and math, middle school social studies and high school biology materials. — Anchorage Daily News, "Some Florida private schools’ curriculum downplays slavery, says humans and dinosaurs lived together," 1 July 2018 In 2008, 10 years ago this week, Kennedy was the fifth vote to strike down D.C.’s ban on possessing handguns, which changed the court’s reading of the Second Amendment for the first time in more than half a century. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Five times Anthony Kennedy was the fifth vote shows the significance of his retirement," 28 June 2018 To minimize reading and shuffling papers, the evening’s programs will only list performer, director and pianist. — David D’arcy, SFChronicle.com, "Len Cariou puts on one-man show ‘Broadway and the Bard’ in Walnut Creek," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reading.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.