Search results for 'read':

read verb (read , reading) 1 to look at and understand (printed or written words). 2 to speak (words which are printed or written). 3 to learn or gain knowledge of something by reading • read the election results in the newspaper. 4 intrans to pass one's leisure time reading books, especially for pleasure • She doesn't read much. 5 to look at or be able to see something and get information from it • cannot read the clock without my glasses. 6 to interpret or understand the meaning of something other than writing, eg a map, a compass, the clouds, etc • read a map. 7 to interpret or understand (signs, marks, etc) without using one's eyes • read Braille. 8 to know (a language) well enough to be able to understand something written in it • speaks Chinese but cannot read it. 9 intrans to have a certain wording • The letter reads as follows. 10 tr & intr to think that (a statement, etc) has a particular meaning • read it as criticism. 11 intrans said of writing: to convey meaning in a specified way • an essay which reads well • reads badly. 12 said of a dial, instrument, etc: to show a particular measurement• The barometer reads 'fair'. 13 to replace (a word, phrase, etc) by another • for 'three' read 'four'. 14 to put into a specified condition by reading • She read the child to sleep. 15 to study (a subject) at university. 16 to hear and understand, especially when using two-way radio • Do you read me? noun 1 a period or act of reading. 2 a book, magazine, etc considered in terms of how readable it is • a good read. read between the lines to perceive a meaning which is implied but not stated. take something as read to accept or assume it. well or widely read educated, especially in literature, through reading.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon rædan.