transitive verb read , reading
- to get the meaning of (something written, printed, embossed, etc.) by using the eyes, or for Braille, the finger tips, to interpret its characters or signs
- proofread
- to utter aloud (printed or written matter)
- to interpret movements of (the lips of a person speaking)
- to know (a language) well enough to interpret its written form
- to understand the nature, significance, or thinking of as if by reading: to read a person's character in her face, to read someone's mind
- to ascribe (an underlying meaning or significance) to: with into: don't read anything into his straightforward reply
- to interpret (signals, etc.)
- to interpret (dreams, omens, tea leaves, lines in the palm of a hand, etc.)
- to foretell (the future)
- to interpret or understand (a printed passage) as having a particular meaning
- to interpret (a musical composition) in a particular way, as in conducting
- to have or give as a reading in a certain passage: this edition reads “show,” not “shew”
- Brit. to study, as at a university; esp., to major in: to read law
- to record and show; register: the thermometer reads 80°
- to put into a (specified) state by reading: to read a child to sleep
- Slang to hear and understand: I read you loud and clear
- Comput. to access (data or a file) from (a disk, tape, etc.)