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

The Amazon Bee Pioneer, a tiny recorder worn as a wristband that listens and offers advice, was helpful for networking events. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 26 July 2026

Heap defeated incumbent recorder Stephen Richer, in a GOP primary, and won the 2024 general election. — Josh Kelety, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026

Developers who use multiple AI agents simultaneously can switch between them using the illuminated keys, and a dedicated voice recorder shortcut supports spoken prompts. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026

For the distortion Richards played an acoustic guitar in open tuning into the microphone of a cheap cassette recorder, with Watts accompanying on a basic drum kit. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 July 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