register

REJ-i-stur/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stɚ/UKREJ-i-stuh/ˈɹɛd͡ʒ.ɪ.stə/

Verbregisters, registering, registered

Noun pluralregisters

25 meanings of register

Practice

1
enrollverbtransitive or intransitive
To put a name or thing on an official list, or to sign up for something.
Volunteers will register new voters outside the grocery store this weekend.
The campaign registered hundreds of students before the election.
UsageRegister for a class or to vote. For yourself, just say you register.
Note
2
nouncountable
An official list of names or events, or the book it is written in.
Her company appears on the official register of approved suppliers.
The town keeps a register of every dog licensed each year.
UsageA register of names. In school, take the register means read out each name to see who is there.
Similarrecord
3
put on recordverbtransitive
To make an official record of something, usually in writing.
Workers at the city office register each complaint in writing.
Please register each payment in the ledger as soon as it arrives.
Similarrecord, log, document, note
Note
4
checkoutnounUSabbreviationellipsis
Short for cash register: a machine that records sales and holds money, or the place in a store where you pay.
The line at the register stretched back to the frozen food aisle.
She paid for the snacks at the register near the door.
UsageSay you pay at the register.
Note
5
show a readingverbtransitive
To show a number, as a thermometer or scale does, or to be measured at some level.
Our old bathroom scale doesn't register anything under ten pounds.
The earthquake registered 5.2 and shook windows all over the city.
UsageSay it registered 6.4 on the Richter scale.
Similarread, show, measure, indicate
Note
6
sink inverbintransitive
To be noticed or understood by someone, often only after a moment.
Her warning didn't register with the busy crowd.
The teacher's joke registered slowly, and then the whole class laughed.
UsageSay it didn't register with me.
Note
7
computer memorynouncountable
A tiny, very fast storage space inside a computer chip that holds the numbers the chip is working on.
Like a small notepad you keep on your desk for quick notes, while the big books stay on the shelf.
The chip puts the answer in a register before saving it to memory.
Each register can hold only one small piece of data at a time.
Note

Less common meanings

8
verbtransitive
To notice and take in something, such as a sound, a change, or a fact.
Half asleep, he didn't register the knock at the door.
She barely registered the cold water as she dove in.
Similarnotice, perceive, detect, spot
Oppositemiss, overlook
9
verbtransitive
To show a feeling through your face, voice, or body.
Her face registered surprise when the door opened.
His eyes register every feeling, even when he tries to hide it.
Similarshow, display, express, reveal
Oppositehide, conceal
Note
10
tracked mailverbtransitive
To pay extra so the post office records a letter and keeps it safe.
She decided to register the package because it held her passport.
You should register important letters when you mail them.
UsagePeople usually say registered mail or a registered letter.
Note
11
language stylenouncountable or uncountable
A style of speaking or writing used in a particular situation, such as at school or at home.
Like wearing different clothes for school and for the beach: you also use different words in different places.
Use a polite register when you talk to your teacher.
His casual register sounded strange in the job interview.
UsageSay you speak in a formal or casual register.
Similarstyle
Note
12
range of notesnouncountable
All the notes a voice or instrument can make, or one part of them, such as the high or low notes.
Her voice has a low, warm register.
The song moves into a higher register near the end.
UsagePeople say the low or high register. For all the notes, say range.
Similarrange, compass
Note
13
noununcountable
The act of putting something or someone on an official list.
Similarregistration, recording
14
air ventnouncountable
A cover over an air vent that you can open or close to change the air flow.
Close the register in the bedroom if it gets too cold.
Warm air came up through the register in the floor near the window.
Similarvent, grille, grate
Note
15
nouncountable
One item written down in an official book of records.
Similarentry
16
record keepernouncountable
A person whose job is to keep official records of events like births or land sales.
The register at the county office stamped the papers for the new house.
She asked the register to look up her grandfather's death record.
UsageMostly in job titles like register of deeds. Otherwise people say registrar.
Similarregistrar, recorder
17
buy softwareverbtransitive or intransitive
To pay for the full version of a trial program by sending your name and payment.
After thirty days, you must register the program to keep using it.
He registered the game so the reminder screen would go away.
Note
18
line up exactlyverbtransitive or intransitive
To fit exactly in line with another part, or to make parts line up exactly.
Like putting one photo exactly on top of another so the edges match.
Turn the lid until the two marks register.
The colors on the poster didn't register, so the picture looked blurry.
UsageSay one part registers with another.
Note
19
printing accuracynoununcountable
The exact way printed lines and colors line up with each other.
Like tracing a picture where every line must sit exactly on top of the first one.
The colors in this poster are out of register, so the picture looks blurry.
Check the register before you print all the copies.
UsageSay the colors are in register or out of register.
Similaralignment
Note
20
meter counternouncountable
A machine or part that counts and records an amount by itself.
Like a step counter that adds one each time you move.
The water company reads the register on the meter every month.
A small register on the machine shows how many copies it has made.
Similarcounter
21
ship papersnouncountable
An official paper kept on a ship that shows its name, owner, and home country.
The captain showed the ship's register to the port officials.
The captain showed the ship's register to prove who owned it.
22
noun
One set of organ pipes that the player turns on with a knob, giving its own kind of sound.
23
noun
One of the bands or rows that divide a picture or carving into parts.
24
noun
The part of an old telegraph machine that wrote down messages by itself.
25
noun
A list inside a phone that shows the calls you have received.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of register apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Latin words meaning to record or carry back things in a list. Some meanings were affected by a different Latin word meaning 'to rule'.

Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Register derives from Latin regesta (‘list, items recorded’) and regerō (‘to record, to carry back’). en.wiktionary.org
Some senses were influenced by the unrelated Latin regō, meaning ‘to rule’. en.wiktionary.org