📒 to look at and understand the meaning of written or printed words or symbols
- She's still learning to read.
- Some children can read and write before they go to school.
- read something I can't read your writing.
📒 to go through written or printed words, etc. in silence or speaking them to other people
- I'm going to go to bed and read.
- The book is very easy to read.
- read to somebody/yourself He liked reading to his grandchildren.
📒 to discover or find out about somebody/something by reading
- read about/of something (in something) I read about the accident in the local paper.
- read that… I read that he had resigned.
- I read somewhere that women are starting companies at record rates.
📒 to guess what somebody else is thinking
- Tell me what you want—I can't read your mind!
📒 to look at the movements of somebody’s lips to learn what they are saying
📒 to understand something in a particular way
- read something How do you read the present situation?
- read something as something Silence must not always be read as consent.
📒 to have something written on it; to be written in a particular way
- The sign read ‘No admittance’.
- I’ve changed the last paragraph. It now reads as follows…
📒 to give a particular impression when read
- Generally, the article reads very well.
- The poem reads like (= sounds as if it is) a translation.
📒 to show a particular weight, pressure, etc.
- What does the thermometer read?
📒 to get information from a measuring instrument
- A man came to read the gas meter.
📒 to hear and understand somebody speaking on a radio set
- ‘Do you read me?’ ‘I'm reading you loud and clear.’
📒 to replace one word, etc. with another when correcting a text
- For ‘madam’ in line 3 read ‘madman’.
📒 to study a subject, especially at a university
- read something I read English at Oxford.
- read for something She's reading for a law degree.
📒 to take information from a disk
- read something My computer can't read the CD-ROM you sent.
- read something into something to read a file into a computer
📒 to look for or discover a meaning in something that is not openly stated
- Reading between the lines, I think Clare needs money.
📒 to understand easily what somebody is thinking or feeling
📒 used to tell somebody to listen carefully to what you are saying
- Read my lips: no new taxes (= I promise there will be no new taxes).
📒 to tell somebody with force that they must not do something
📒 to accept something without discussing it
- Can we take it as read that you want the job?