recorder

play

noun re·cord·er \ri-ˈkȯr-dər\

Definition of recorder

1a : the chief judicial magistrate of some British cities and boroughsb : 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

See recorder defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of recorder from the Web

In 1977, the VHS home videocassette recorder was introduced to North America by JVC during a press conference in Chicago.

— associated press, Washington Post, "Today in History", 4 June 2017
In a transcript of the plane's cockpit voice recorder, the pilots can be heard talking about the incident shortly after the plane stops.

— aaron cooper and elizabeth landers, CNN, "Pence plane missed runway target by nearly 2,000 feet, NTSB says", 2 June 2017
On June 15 the Totally Dogs 4H Club, along with Geauga County Recorder, Sharon Gingerich, Geauga County recorder will host the ninth annual dinner and silent auction for the Geauga County Dog Shelter and the Geauga County K9 Unit.

— joan rusek, cleveland.com, "The Caveman Crawl returns to The West Woods: Valley Views", 29 May 2017
When the four tracks were filled up with music the engineer would mix them down to a single track and transfer that to another four track recorder and work from there.

— steve guttenberg, CBS News, "The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper’s" remix sounds like a different album", 28 May 2017
Another system used tape recorders to double a sound.

— william goodman, Billboard, "The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's' Turns 50: Is It The Best Album Ever?", 26 May 2017
After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined.

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "A Republican Congressional Candidate Allegedly Body Slammed a Reporter", 25 May 2017
Gianforte asked Jacobs to lower a phone that was being used as an audio recorder, then tried to grab it, the campaign said in a statement.

— the associated press, The Hollywood Reporter, "Montana GOP Candidate Greg Gianforte Charged With Assaulting Reporter", 25 May 2017
DVR-1000 recorder: $2,288; DVS-RW47 re-recordable disc: $27.

— paul spinrad, WIRED, "Fetish", 1 May 2000

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

Illustration of recorder

15th Century

First Known Use of recorder

15th century

RECORDER Defined for English Language Learners

recorder

play

noun

Definition of recorder for English Language Learners

: a device that records sounds or images or both so that they can be heard or seen again
: a musical instrument that is shaped like a tube with holes and that is played by blowing into the top of the tube
: a judge in some courts of law

RECORDER Defined for Kids

recorder

play

noun re·cord·er \ri-ˈkȯr-dər\

Definition of recorder for Students

1 : a person or device that records a digital video recorder
2 : a musical instrument like a long hollow whistle with eight holes for the fingers

Law Dictionary

recorder

noun re·cord·er

Legal Definition of recorder

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