recorder

noun

re·​cord·​er ri-ˈkȯr-dər 

1

a

: the chief judicial magistrate of some British cities and boroughs

b

: a municipal judge with criminal jurisdiction of first instance and sometimes limited civil jurisdiction

2

: one that records

3

: any of a group of wind instruments ranging from soprano to bass that are characterized by a conical tube, a whistle mouthpiece, and eight finger holes

Illustration of recorder

• recorder 3

Examples of recorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Facing a room packed with reporters, live recorders and rolling cameras at Mortgage Matchup Center a few hours after Thursday’s trade deadline, Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed regret over how things turned out after the Warriors dealt Jonathan Kuminga. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026

The clerk, recorder, and assessor races each have one Republican and Democrat running. —Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026

Elle has become a collector of sounds, wandering the city with a pocket recorder in hand, creating what are, in effect, sonic images of instants stretched out into time. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration joined state and local authorities at the scene and recovered the cockpit voice and data recorders for analysis. —Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing recorder

• cockpit voice recorder
• flight data recorder
• flight recorder
• strip-chart recorder
• tape recorder
• videocassette recorder
• videotape recorder
• wire recorder

Rhymes for recorder

• camcorder
• disorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder
• boarder
• border
• corder
• order
• warder

Kids Definition

recorder

noun

re·​cord·​er ri-ˈkȯrd-ər 

1

: a person or device that records

2

: a musical instrument consisting of a usually wooden tube with finger holes and a whistle mouthpiece

Legal Definition

recorder

noun

re·​cord·​er

1

: a judge of a municipal court

2

: a public officer charged with making a record of writings or transactions (as conveyances)

a recorder of deeds