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

There is a sign posted outside of every vote center with a phone number to call an election worker who will bring a ballot to the voter, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026

The Justice Department sued California and Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder and county clerk, and sought a court order requiring the ballots to be segregated. — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Amazon Amazon on Thursday unveiled two new Bee listening devices, including a wearable and a credit card-sized voice recorder, marking its latest push into the AI gadget market. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

The officers feared one of these unvetted women might be carrying a recorder to set up in a bedroom, or, worse, might take it upon herself to harm the president or someone in his inner circle. — Laurence Leamer, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 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