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

Event data recorder downloads sometimes capture belt status and pretensioner activity, at least when the module survived and the data was obtained lawfully. — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026

None of the recorders from the New York planes were ever found. — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026

Plaud is a little recorder people clip to a shirt to capture conversations throughout the day. — Jennifer Jolly, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026

The PiLY is a screen-less wearable wristband that tracks your health and fitness stats, and doubles as a voice recorder. — New Atlas, 10 Sep. 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