reading
Noun pluralreadings
Pluralreadings
- 1Present participle and gerund of read.
He spent the whole evening reading by the fire.
Reading quietly in the corner, she ignored the noise around her.
Note
Two old words meet in this spelling. The participle comes from Old English rǣdende, a form of rǣdan "to read", while the nouns descend from a separate word, rǣding. As a participle it follows be in progressive tenses (she was reading by the fire). As a gerund it fills a noun's slot but can still take an object (reading maps takes practice). Unlike the nouns, it has no plural.
- 2The process of interpreting written language in order to understand its meaning.
Strong reading depends on both recognizing words and grasping their meaning.
Years of practice made reading effortless for her.
- 3The result of a measurement as displayed by the instrument used.
The technician checked the pressure reading before opening the valve.
Several readings were taken to confirm the result.
Similarmeasurement, figure, value
- 4A particular interpretation or understanding of something, such as a text or an event.
The director's reading of the play emphasized its darker themes.
Critics offered competing readings of the novel's ambiguous ending.
Similarinterpretation, take, understanding
Note
By extension, the thing interpreted no longer has to be text: a situation, a performance or an ending can all receive a reading. It usually takes of before what is interpreted (my reading of the current situation, the director's reading of the play), and a possessive often names whose interpretation it is. Because each reading is someone's, readings can compete.
- 5An event at which written material is read aloud to an audience.
Hundreds turned up for the novelist's reading at the literary festival.
The bookstore hosts a reading on the first Friday of every month.
Similarrecitation
- 6A passage chosen from scripture or another written work and read out to a gathering.
The wedding included a reading from a well-known love poem.
Each reading was followed by a moment of quiet reflection.
Similarpassage, excerpt, extract, lesson
Note
In a church service or a ceremony, the word names the passage itself rather than the occasion. Because each passage counts as one unit, services can have two or three readings, and the usual construction is a reading from followed by the book or poem: a reading from the Bible, a reading from Ruth. Keep it apart from the public event, where a reading is the whole gathering and not one passage within it.
- 7The interpretation of signs and symbols, or of the indications on a gauge or other measuring instrument.
Accurate reading of the gauge prevented a costly mistake.
Chart reading is essential for sailors navigating unfamiliar waters.
Similarinterpretation
- 8Material that is available or intended to be read.
The investigative article makes for gripping reading.
He keeps a pile of reading beside his bed.
- 9One of several formal stages a bill passes through in a legislature before becoming law.
The bill cleared its third reading and was sent on for signature.
Amendments are often introduced between a bill's readings.
Note
Legislatures number these stages: a bill goes through a first, second and third reading before final passage. The ordinal usually comes with the word, and the verbs are procedural. A bill gets, passes or clears a reading, and amendments can be introduced between one reading and the next. Saying a bill has cleared its third reading means it is close to becoming law.
- 10The extent or range of what a person has read.
His broad reading showed in every essay he wrote.
Her reading in philosophy was unusually deep for her age.
Similarlearning, erudition, scholarship
Note
Here reading is something a person possesses, as in the phrase a man of good reading. It is judged by its extent, so it pairs with adjectives such as broad and deep, and with in before a field (her reading in philosophy). Compare reading material, which means the things that are read. This sense means how much someone has read.
Less common meanings
- 11The collection of texts that make up the reading list for a course.
This semester's reading includes several primary sources.
She finished the assigned reading before class.
Note
Course talk treats everything on the list as a single mass, so this sense takes no plural. Students do the reading, finish the assigned reading, or fall behind in their reading by several chapters. Unlike reading material in general, this reading is set by the course, not chosen by the reader.
- 12A pronunciation associated with a particular written character or word, especially in East Asian scripts.
The kanji takes a different reading inside this compound word.
Context usually tells you which reading fits the sentence.
Similarpronunciation
Note
In scripts like Chinese, one written character can stand for more than one pronunciation, and each of these is called a reading. Some characters have numerous readings, and the word or compound around a character decides which one applies. A character is said to have or take a reading. Pronunciation is the general word for how something is said, while reading ties a sound to a particular written sign.
- 13In Go, the process of imagining sequences of moves and responses without actually placing stones.
Strong players rely on deep reading to predict their opponent's response.
His reading failed him, and he lost the corner.
Similarcalculation
Note
Go players use the ordinary word for calculation done entirely in the head, before any stone touches the board. It is uncountable and graded like a skill, so a player's reading is described as deep or shallow, accurate or faulty. A lost corner is often blamed on it, as when a player's reading fails.
Showing meanings only.
reading is a form of read
read, verb: To look at and make sense of letters, words, or other written information, including a book or the works of a particular writer. Full entry
- Spelling
- read → reading: add -ing
Practice
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Origins
This comes from Middle English 'reding', from Old English 'rǣdende', the present participle of 'rǣdan' ('to read'), equivalent to read + -ing.
This comes from Middle English 'reding', from Old English 'rǣding' ('reading'), equivalent to read + -ing.