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

Later, in the fall, Bachman bought a handheld recorder and rented a cabin in Shenandoah National Park. —Brendan Fitzgerald, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2024

Other ports include a full-size HDMI connector for an external recorder or monitor, and discrete 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks. —PCMAG, 16 Dec. 2024

For the next three decades, the Japanese company emerged as a household name in consumer electronics, producing iconic devices from the Trinitron color TV in 1968 to the Walkman cassette player in 1979 to the world’s first CD player in 1982, in addition to numerous cameras and video recorders. —John Towfighi, CNN, 14 Dec. 2024

There, the base of each tattooed wire is connected to an actual wire, which is in turn connected to a small wearable commercial EEG recorder. —Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 13 Dec. 2024

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

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