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

Military pilots may not have heard control tower The preliminary report also includes more details about an analysis of the flight data and voice recorder recovered from the helicopter. —Alexandra Skores, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025

During an investigation, officials found the voice recorder below eight feet of dirt and debris. —Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025

For connecting to video cameras, laptops and digital recorders, there is also a 3.5mm analog output. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

The recording was made by a passive acoustic recorder, which was around 900 miles from where the OceanGate vessel imploded and was made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2025

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