Record (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

verb (used with object)
  1. to set down in writing or the like, as for the purpose of preserving evidence.
  2. to cause to be set down or registered: to record one's vote.
  3. to state or indicate: He recorded his protest, but it was disregarded.
  4. to serve to relate or to tell of: The document records that the battle took place six years earlier.
  5. to set down or register in some permanent form, as on a seismograph.
  6. to set down, register, or fix by characteristic marks, incisions, magnetism, etc., for the purpose of reproduction by a phonograph or magnetic reproducer.
  7. to make a recording of: The orchestra recorded the 6th Symphony.
verb (used without object)
  1. to record something; make a record.
noun rec·ord [rek-erd] /ˈrɛk ərd/
  1. an act of recording.
  2. the state of being recorded, as in writing.
  3. an account in writing or the like preserving the memory or knowledge of facts or events.
  4. information or knowledge preserved in writing or the like.
  5. a report, list, or aggregate of actions or achievements: He made a good record in college. The ship has a fine sailing record.
  6. a legally documented history of criminal activity: They discovered that the suspect had a record.
  7. something or someone serving as a remembrance; memorial: Keep this souvenir as a record of your visit.
  8. the tracing, marking, or the like, made by a recording instrument.
  9. something on which sound or images have been recorded for subsequent reproduction, as a grooved disk that is played on a phonograph or an optical disk for recording sound (audio disc ) or images (videodisc ).
  10. the highest or best rate, amount, etc., ever attained, especially in sports: to hold the record for home runs; to break the record in the high jump.
  11. the standing of a team or individual with respect to contests won, lost, and tied.
  12. an official writing intended to be preserved.
  13. a group of related fields, or a single field, treated as a unit and comprising part of a file or data set, for purposes of input, processing, output, or storage by a computer.
  14. Law.
    • the commitment to writing, as authentic evidence, of something having legal importance, especially as evidence of the proceedings or verdict of a court.
    • evidence preserved in this manner.
    • an authentic or official written report of proceedings of a court of justice.
adjective rec·ord [rek-erd] /ˈrɛk ərd/
  1. making or affording a record.
  2. surpassing or superior to all others: a record year for automobile sales.
Idioms
  1. to issue a public statement of one's opinion or stand: He went on record as advocating immediate integration.
  2. off the record,
    • not intended for publication; unofficial; confidential: The president's comment was strictly off the record.
    • not registered or reported as a business transaction; off the books.
  3. on record,
    • existing as a matter of public knowledge; known.
    • existing in a publication, document, file, etc.: There was no birth certificate on record.
noun (ˈrɛkɔːd)
  1. an account in permanent form, esp in writing, preserving knowledge or information about facts or events
  2. a written account of some transaction that serves as legal evidence of the transaction
  3. a written official report of the proceedings of a court of justice or legislative body, including the judgments given or enactments made
  4. anything serving as evidence or as a memorial
  5. information or data on a specific subject collected methodically over a long period
    • the best or most outstanding amount, rate, height, etc, ever attained, as in some field of sport
    • (as modifier)
  6. the sum of one's recognized achievements, career, or performance
  7. a list of crimes of which an accused person has previously been convicted, which are known to the police but may only be disclosed to a court in certain circumstances
  8. to be a known criminal; have a previous conviction or convictions
  9. a thin disc of a plastic material upon which sound has been recorded. Each side has a spiral groove, which undulates in accordance with the frequency and amplitude of the sound. Records were formerly made from a shellac-based compound but were later made from vinyl plastics
  10. the markings made by a recording instrument such as a seismograph
  11. a group of data or piece of information preserved as a unit in machine-readable form
  12. (in some computer languages) a data structure designed to allow the handling of groups of related pieces of information as though the group were a single entity
  13. for the sake of a strict factual account
  14. to state one's views publicly
  15. See off the record
  16. on record
    • stated in a public document
    • publicly known
  17. to correct an error or misunderstanding
verb (rɪˈkɔːd) (mainly tr)
  1. to set down in some permanent form so as to preserve the true facts of
  2. to contain or serve to relate (facts, information, etc)
  3. to indicate, show, or register
  4. to remain as or afford evidence of
  5. to make a recording of (music, speech, etc) for reproduction, or for later broadcasting
  6. (of an instrument) to register or indicate (information) on a scale
Record (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

More Definitions