reader

UK: /ˈriːdə^r/ US: /ˈridɚ/ ,(rē′dər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

read•er /ˈridɚ/   n. [countable]

1. a person who reads (something) in a specified way:
   a fast reader.
2. a textbook for students learning to read:
   a first-grade reader.
3. a lecturer or instructor in some British institutions.
4. [Computers.] a device that reads data, programs, or other information into a computer for storage or use.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

read•er  (rē′dər), n. 

1. a person who reads.
2. a schoolbook for instruction and practice in reading:
   a second-grade reader.
3. a book of collected or assorted writings, esp. when related in theme, authorship, or instructive purpose;
   anthology:
   a Hemingway reader; a sci-fi reader.
4. a person employed to read and evaluate manuscripts offered for publication.
5. Printing a proofreader.
6. a person who reads or recites before an audience;
   elocutionist.
7. a person authorized to read the lessons, Bible, etc., in a church service.
8. Education a lecturer or instructor, esp. in some British universities:
   to be appointed reader in English history.
9. an assistant to a professor, who grades examinations, papers, etc.
10. Computing a device that reads data, programs, or control information from an external storage medium for transmission to main storage. Cf. card reader, optical character reader. 
11. Optics a machine or device that projects or enlarges a microform image on a screen or other surface for reading.
12. a playing card marked on its back so that the suit or denomination of the card can be identified.
13. Library Science the user of a library;
    library patron.

• Middle English reder(e), redar(e), Old English rǣdere. See read¹, -er¹ bef. 1000

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

reader / ˈriːdə/ noun

1. a person who reads
2. a person who is fond of reading
3. at a university, a member of staff having a position between that of a senior lecturer and a professor
4. a teaching assistant in a faculty who grades papers, examinations, etc, on behalf of a professor
5. a book that is part of a planned series for those learning to read
6. a standard textbook, esp for foreign-language learning
7. a person who reads aloud in public
8. a person who reads and assesses the merit of manuscripts submitted to a publisher
9. a person employed to read proofs and indicate errors by comparison with the original copy; proofreader
10. short for lay reader
11. 
    another word for cantor1