read

1 /ri:d/ verb past tense and past participle read /red/

1 WORDS/BOOKS (I, T) to look at written words and understand what they mean: Tom could read by the time he was four. | read sth: Read the instructions carefully before you start. | I'm sorry, I can't read your handwriting. | I can read Spanish but I can't speak it very well. | I've read a lot of Agatha Christie. | reading the paper

2 INFORMATION (intransitive, transitive not in progressive) to find out information from books, newspapers etc: You can't believe everything you read in the papers.

(+ about/of): Did you read about that terrible car crash? | I read of his death in the local newspaper. | read (that): Simon was amazed when he read that Sally had won a literary prize.

3 READ AND SPEAK (I, T) to say the written words in a book, newspaper etc so that people can hear them: read sb sth: Daddy, will you read me a story? | read to sb: Our mother reads to us every evening. | read (sth) aloud: He glanced at the letter and began to read it aloud.

4 MUSIC/MAPS/SIGNS ETC (T) to look at signs, pictures etc and understand what they mean: He plays the flute well but can't actually read music. | map reading

5 UNDERSTAND STH IN A PARTICULAR WAY (T) to choose to understand a situation, remark, etc in one of several possible ways: read sth as: I read her reply as a refusal. | The poem can be read as a protest against war. | read sth well/accurately (=understand something correctly): Reagan's speech showed that he had accurately read the mood of Congress.

6 HAVE A PARTICULAR SIGN/MEANING (intransitive not in progressive) if words read in a particular way, they have a particular form, or produce a particular effect when you read them: The first sentence read: “If I should die before you receive this letter...” | The name should read `Benson', not `Fenton'. | read well/awkwardly etc (=be easy or difficult to read and understand): The report reads well, but it doesn't cover the most important points.

7 read sth as sth/for sth read sth used to tell someone to replace a wrong number or word with the correct one: Please read -50 as -15. | For 'November' (=instead of November) on line 6, read 'September'

8 MEASURING (T)

a) to look at the number or amount shown on a measuring instrument: Read the meter and tell me how much electricity we've used.

b) if a measuring instrument reads a particular number, it shows that number: The thermometer read 46 degrees.

9 AT UNIVERSITY (T) BrE to study a subject at a university: I read history at Cambridge.

10 take it as read (that)

a) especially BrE to feel certain that something is true without having proof; assume: You can take it as read that the press will support our opponents.

b) to accept a report, statement etc as correct and complete without reading or hearing it: We'll have to take the secretary's report as read.

11 read between the lines to guess someone's real feelings from something they say or write: Reading between the lines, I'd say Robert's got a lot of problems.

12 read sb's mind/thoughts to guess what someone else is thinking: As if he had read her mind, he stood up and offered her his seat.

13 read sb like a book to know someone so well that you immediately know what they are thinking or feeling

14 read sb's palm to look carefully at someone's hand, in order to find out about their future: Have you ever had your palm read?

15 read sb's lips to understand what someone is saying by watching the way their lips move

—see also: lip­read

16 COMPUTER (T) technical if the disk drive of a computer reads information from a disk, it takes the information and puts it into the computer's memory

17 do you read me? spoken used to ask someone whether they fully understand what you are saying: I do not want this to happen again! Do you read me?

18 well-read/widely-read having read a lot of books and gained a lot of knowledge: She is an intelligent, well-read human being.

19 widely-read/little-read etc read by a lot of people, few people etc: Jon Naughton's widely-read column in the Observer.

—see also: reading, read (sb) the riot act riot 1 (4) read for sth phrasal verb (T)

1 BrE old-fashioned to study a subject in order to get a university degree: She's reading for a degree in physics.

2 to perform the part of a particular character from a play, as a test of your ability to act in the play; audition 2

read sth into sth phrasal verb (T) to think that a situation, action etc has a meaning or importance that it does not really have: It was only a casual remark. I think you're reading too much into it. read sth out phrasal verb (T) to say the words that are written in a message, list etc, so that people can hear: He opened the envelope and read out the name of the winner. read sth through/over phrasal verb (T) to read something carefully from beginning to end in order to check details or find mistakes: Read the contract over carefully before you sign it. read sth up also read up on sth phrasal verb (T) informal to read a lot about something because you will need to know about it: I'll have to read up on the tax laws before the meeting tomorrow. 2 noun (singular)

1 BrE informal an act of reading something, or time spent doing this: have a nice quiet read

2 a good read something that you enjoy reading: It's not great literature, but it's a good read.