Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

read - thesaurus entry
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

verb
  1. 1
    to look at and understand words in a letter, book, newspaper, etc.

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

    General words meaning to read: read, study, devour, peruse, legible, illegible, fluent, read out... more
    1. a.
      to speak the words that you are looking at

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

      General words meaning to read: read, study, devour, peruse, legible, illegible, fluent, read out... more
    2. b.
      to get information from books, newspapers, etc.

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

      To find out information: find out, read up on, discover, establish, gather, uncover, determine, ascertain, find, get... more
    3. c.
      used for telling someone about mistakes in printing

      *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

      Editing, adapting and proofreading: adapt, append, bowdlerize, censor, compress, condense, cut, cut down, delete, dramatize... more
  4. 4
    if a short piece of writing reads something, it contains those particular words

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

    To contain something: include, contents, contain, fit, catch, house, harbor, accommodate, hold, have... more
  8. 8
    if something reads well or badly, you think it has been written well or badly

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

    General words meaning to read: read, study, devour, peruse, legible, illegible, fluent, read out... more
  9. 9
    to hear someone who is speaking to you by radio

    *American English synonyms or related words for this sense of read*

    To hear something: hear, make out, receive, overhear, catch, discern, see/hear things, read, mishear... more

phrases

These are synonyms and/or related words for read in the American English Thesaurus. View synonyms and/or related words for read in the British English Thesaurus.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

dray

a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog