read definition

1. something that is read
• examples: the article was a very good read
2. interpret something that is written or printed
• examples: read the advertisement
• examples: Have you read Salman Rushdie?
3. have or contain a certain wording or form
• examples: The passage reads as follows
• examples: What does the law say?
4. look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed
• examples: The King will read the proclamation at noon
5. obtain data from magnetic tapes
• examples: This dictionary can be read by the computer
6. interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior
• examples: She read the sky and predicted rain
• examples: I can't read his strange behavior
• examples: The fortune teller read his fate in the crystal ball
7. indicate a certain reading; of gauges and instruments
• examples: The thermometer showed thirteen degrees below zero
• examples: The gauge read `empty'
8. audition for a stage role by reading parts of a role
• examples: He is auditioning for `Julius Caesar' at Stratford this year
9. to hear and understand
• examples: I read you loud and clear!