Meaning of read in English

read

verb

/riːd/ uk

/riːd/

past tense and past participle read us

/red/ uk

/red/

read verb (UNDERSTAND)

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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 sloppy 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 slot, and 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 information, a statement, a situation, etc.:

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 19, for "Blitish," please read "British."

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

[ I or T ]

How you read a piece of writing, or how it reads, is how it seems when you read it:

read as if The letter reads as if it were 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.

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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

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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 "We, the people of the United States..."

The thermometer is reading 100°F in the shade.

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Writing & typing

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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).

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Learning & knowing

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read verb (MAKE A JUDGMENT)

[ T ]

to make a judgment about something that you are looking at, especially 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 curling, you 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.

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Analyzing and evaluating

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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/ uk

/riːd/

the act of reading something:

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

good/easy read The book is a good/easy, etc. 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

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

read | Intermediate English

read

verb

/rid/

read verb (OBTAIN MEANING)

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[ 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 right, we’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 device, you 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

I read them between seasons two and three.

From Hollywood Reporter

Read this if you want to know more.

From Gizmodo

Great at reading lines, but did he actually think anything?

From TIME

Just don't speak up with any of the things you just read about.

From Huffington Post

He'd break to read mail with his wife and then return to his study around 10:30 a.m. for a second session.

From NPR

Why not a book that fans and even nonfans would want to read?

From TIME

I would like to read more on this.

From TIME

And consider reading more about time-outs so that you know you're doing them right.

From Huffington Post

I think reading about other suffers is the best way to come to terms with my own suffering.

From TIME

Before reading them, there are some important points to remember.

From CNN

Just give meyour current telephone number if you read this mail.

From CNET

She passed out notecards with the things that had been said about her and had students read them.

From ABC News

I read and have read to her every day of her life.

From CNN

I am really enjoying reading your well written articles.

From TIME

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?

A1,A2,C2,C2