Meaning of read in English

read

verb

/riːd/ us

/riːd/

past tense and past participle read uk

/red/ us

/red/

read verb (UNDERSTAND)

Add to word list Add to word list

A1 [ I or T ]

to look at words or symbols and understand what they mean:

He spent a pleasant afternoon reading (the newspaper/a book).

read about I read about the family's success in the local paper.

It was too dark to read our map and we took a wrong turning.

Can you read music?

Your handwriting is so untidy I can't read it.

[ + (that) ] I've read in the newspapers (that) there is a threat of war.

Put your plastic card in the slotand the machine will read it and identify who you are.

Some children can read (= have learned the skill of reading) by the age of four.

A2 [ I or T ]

to say the words that are printed or written:

She read (the poem) slowly and quietly.

[ + two objects ] Their teacher always reads them a story at the end of the day.

read (aloud/out) to Children love to have stories read (aloud/out) to them.

C2 [ T ]

to understand and give a particular meaning to written informationa statementa situationetc.:

read something as something She missed the train because she read 18.30 p.m. as 8.30 p.m. instead of 6.30 p.m.

for something read something On page 19for "Blitish"please read "British".

If I've read the situation correctlywe should have some agreement on the contract by the end of the week.

[ I or T ]

How you read a piece of writingor how it readsis how it seems when you read it:

read as if The letter reads as if it was written in a hurry.

Her latest novel reads well (= is written in an attractive way).

[ T ]

(especially when communicating by radio)to hear and understand someone:

Do you read me?

I read you loud and clear.

read someone to sleep

to read aloud to someone until they go to sleep:

Every night when I was a child my father used to read me to sleep.

More examplesFewer examples

I didn't read the contract fully before I signed it but I'm counting the cost now.
He learned to read at the early age of three.
The driver was peering into the distance trying to read the road sign.
None of the committee's proposals will matter a jot if no-one reads their report.
I've been put off reading the book by all the hype.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Reading

See more results »

You can also find related wordsphrasesand synonyms in the topics:

Understanding and comprehending

Broadcasting: radio

read verb (STATE)

[ L ]

(of something written or printed) to have or give the stated information or meaning:

[ + speech ] The start of the US Constitution reads "Wethe people of the United States..."

The thermometer is reading 40°C in the shade.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Writing & typing

See more results »

read verb (STUDY)

[ I or T ] law UK formal or specialized

to study at university or to study for a specialized qualification:

They're both reading history at Cambridge.

read for the Bar She's reading for the Bar (= studying to become a type of lawyer called a barrister).

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Learning & knowing

See more results »

read verb (MAKE A JUDGMENT)

[ T ]

to make a judgment about something that you are looking atespecially about the distances and angles on the green in golf (= the flat area around the hole) or on another area of land:

He wants to help golfers to read the greens more easily.

My putting wasn’t good today – I wasn’t reading the greens right.

More examplesFewer examples

The greenkeeper at the bowling club taught him how to read the greens.
In curlingyou have to have to read the ice much as golfers have to read the greens.
Young officers were expected to learn to read the lie of the land.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Analysing and evaluating

See more results »

You can also find related wordsphrasesand synonyms in the topics:

Golf

Idioms

read someone's lips
read someone's mind
read someone's palm
read (someone) the riot act
read between the lines
read the room
read my lips
read the runes
take something as read

Phrasal verbs

read something into something
read something out
read something over/through
read up (on/about) something

read

noun [ S ]

/riːd/ us

/riːd/

the act of reading something:

It's not brilliant but it's worth a read.

good/easy read The book is a good/easyetc. read.

have a read of UK informal Could I have a read of (= can I read) your newspaper?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Reading

See more results »

(Definition of read from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

read | American Dictionary

read

verb

/rid/

read verb (OBTAIN MEANING)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ I/T ] past tense and past participle read us/red/

to obtain meaning or information by looking at written words or symbols:

[ T ] I read the book over the weekend.

[ I ] She couldn’t read or write.

[ I ] Did you read about the plan to build a new road to the airport?

[ + that clause ] I read that the job market for teachers is excellent.

[ T ] He reads music.

[ I/T ] past tense and past participle read us/red/

To read is also to say aloud the written words:

[ I/T ] She read the story to the class.

read verb (UNDERSTAND)

[ I/T ]

to understand the meaning or intention of something:

[ T ] If I’ve read the situation rightwe’ll soon have agreement on a contract.

read verb (SHOW/STATE)

past tense and past participle read us/red/

to show or state information:

[ L ] The sign read"No parking here to corner."

past tense and past participle read us/red/

If you read a deviceyou look at the measurement it shows:

[ T ] The gas company sends someone to read the meter every month.

Idioms

read between the lines

read someone’s mind

Phrasal verbs

read something into something
read out something
read up on something

(Definition of read from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of read

read

The effects of elevated train noise on reading ability.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I have three concerns after reading the book.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If you did not know what kind of sound banda makes - or why - after reading this book you will be none the wiser.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Evidence from intervention programs on reading suggests a causal relation between experience with books and language acquisition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Our major interest was to determine how differences observed in reading interactions relate to language acquisition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Predicting reading ability over the long-term : the changing roles of letter namingphonological awareness and orthographic processing.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Regression analyses with the older group attributed this to reading acquisition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Students of policy and politics can benefit from reading this book.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I think linguists with an interest in diachronic syntax will surely benefit from reading this book.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When you are done reading the passageturn the page.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Perspectives on reading research and instruction (pp. 28-33).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I found myself asking on reading thisbut the question is not seriously addressed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

On reading through the texthoweverone begins to develop an uneasy feeling that its central focus is the provider and not the older person.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Gradually from then he became very withdrawnand he stopped reading the papers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Such damage produces a greater impairment on reading exception words than regular words.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of read

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of read?

Translations of read

in Chinese (Traditional)

理解閱讀看懂…

in Chinese (Simplified)

理解阅读看懂…

in Spanish

leerleersesonar…

in Portuguese

lerdizerindicar…

in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

in French

in Catalan

in Dutch

in Tamil

in Hindi

in Gujarati

in Danish

in Swedish

in Malay

in German

in Norwegian

in Urdu

in Ukrainian

in Telugu

in Bengali

in Czech

in Indonesian

in Thai

in Vietnamese

in Polish

in Korean

in Italian

वाचणे / शब्द किंवा चिन्हे बघून त्याचा अर्थ ओळखणे/कळणेमोठ्यांदा वाचणे / छापील किंवा लिखित शब्द उच्चारणेवाचन…

～を読む読書する～を朗読する…

okumaksesli okumakokuyup anlamak…

lirefaire la lectureétudier…

llegir…

lezenvoorlezenstuderen…

சொற்கள் அல்லது சின்னங்களைப் பார்த்து அவை எதைக் குறிக்கின்றன என்பதைப் புரிந்து கொள்ளுதல்அச்சப்படும் அல்லது எழுதப்படும் வார்த்தைகளைச் சொல்லஎதையாவது படிக்கும் செயல்…

(अर्थ समझने हेतु) पढ़ना(मुद्रित या लिखित शब्दों को पढ़ कर) सुनानापाठन…

વાંચવુંવાંચનપઠન…

læselæse forstudere…

läsastuderaläsa av…

memahamimengetahuibaca…

lesenvorlesenstudieren…