- to put in writing, print, etc. for future use; draw up an account of: to record the day's events
- to make a permanent or official note of: to record a vote
- to indicate automatically and permanently, as on a graph or chart: a seismograph records earthquakes
- to show, as on a dial: a thermometer records temperatures
- to remain as evidence of: metal tools record a superior civilization
- to register (sound or visual images) in some permanent form by mechanical or digital means for later reproduction, as on a playback device
- to register the performance of (a musician, actor, composition, etc.) on discs, tapes, etc. in this way
Origin of record
Middle English recorden, to report, repeat (also, to sing, practice a tune, warble) from Old French recorder, to recount, recite, repeat from Classical Latin recordari, to call to mind, remember from re-, again + cor (gen. cordis), mind, heart- to record something
- to admit of being recorded
noun
rec′ord- the condition of being recorded
- anything that is written down and preserved as evidence; account of events
- anything that serves as evidence of an event, etc.
- an official written report of public proceedings, as in a legislature or court of law, preserved for future reference
- anything that written evidence is put on or in, as a register or monument
- the known or recorded facts about anyone or anything, as about one's career
- the recorded offenses or crimes of a person who has been arrested one or more times
- something on which sound or visual images have been recorded; esp., a thin, flat, grooved disc for playing on a phonograph
- the best performance, highest speed, greatest amount, highest rate, etc. achieved, esp. when officially recorded
- Comput. a group of logically related fields, dealt with as a unit
- Sports the number of games, matches, etc. won and lost by a team or person
Origin of record
ME < OFr < the v.adjective
rec′ord establishing a record as the best, largest, etc.: a record crop
record Idioms
go on record
to state one's opinions publicly or officially
like a broken record
repeating the same words or message over in a mechanical or tiresome way
Origin of record
in ref. to an imperfection on a phonograph record that causes the tonearm to keep tracking the same sectionoff the record
not for publication or public release; confidential(ly)
on (the) record
recorded; publicly or officially declared or known
