To What Does Register Refer?

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register

noun

a book in which records of acts, events, names, etc., are kept.

a list or record of such acts, events, etc.

an entry in such a book, record, or list.

an official document issued to a merchant ship as evidence of its nationality.

registration or registry.

a mechanical device by which certain data are automatically recorded.

Music.

the compass or range of a voice or an instrument.
a part of this range produced in the same way and having the same quality: the head register; the upper register of the clarinet.
(in an organ) a stop.

a device for controlling the flow of warmed air or the like through an opening, as from a duct to an interior, composed of a number of narrow, parallel blades, usually behind a grating, that may be adjusted so as to overlap and close the opening.

Photography. proper relationship between two plane surfaces in photography, as corresponding plates in photoengraving.

Printing.

a precise adjustment or correspondence, as of lines, columns, etc., especially on the two sides of a leaf.
correct relation or exact superimposition, as of colors in color printing.

a bookmark, especially a ribbon attached to the spine of a book.

Linguistics. a variety of language typically used in a specific type of communicative setting: an informal register; the register of scientific discourse.

Computers. a high-speed storage location in the CPU, used to store a related string of bits, as a word or phrase.

verb (used with object)

to enter or cause to be entered formally in a register.

to cause (mail) to be recorded upon delivery to a post office for safeguarding against loss, theft, damage, etc., during transmission.

to enroll (a student, voter, etc.) in a school or course of study, on the voting rolls, etc.

to indicate by a record, as instruments do: The thermometer registered 102 degrees today.

to indicate or show, as on a scale.

Printing. to adjust so as to secure exact correspondence; cause to be in register.

Military. to adjust (fire) on a known point.

to show (surprise, joy, anger, etc.), as by facial expression or by actions.

verb (used without object)

to enter one's name or cause it to be entered in a register; enroll: to register at a motel.

to apply for and obtain inclusion of one's name on the list of voters.

to enroll in a school or course of study: I've registered for three English classes.

Printing. to be in register.

to show: A broad smile registered on his face.

to have some effect; make some impression: My plea didn't register on him at all.

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Origin of register

1350–1400; Middle English registre<Middle French, Old French <Medieval Latin registrum, regestrum, alteration of Late Latin regesta catalog, list, noun use of neuter plural of Latin regestus, past participle of regerere to carry back, pile up, collect, equivalent to re-re- + ges-, stem of gerere to bear + -tus past participle suffix; (v.) Middle English registren (<Middle French registrer) <Medieval Latin registrāre, derivative of registrum

OTHER WORDS FROM register

reg·is·ter·er, noun reg·is·tra·bil·i·ty [rej-uh-struh-bil-i-tee], /ˌrɛdʒ ə strəˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun reg·is·tra·ble, reg·is·ter·a·ble, adjective mis·reg·is·ter, verb

non·reg·is·tra·ble, adjective pre·reg·is·ter, verb (used with or without object) re·reg·is·ter, verb un·reg·is·tra·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH register

Words nearby register

region of head, region of inferior limb, region of superior limb, Regis, régisseur, register, registered, registered bond, registered dietitian, registered disabled, Registered General Nurse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use register in a sentence

Filipinos make up nearly a fifth of registers nurses in California, according to a 2018 Board of Registered Nursing survey.
She doesn't have a news anchor voice — one that is trained and practiced at staying at a low register.
It can guess basic demographic information like gender, who's an employee—based on whether they go behind the register, even interactions between employees and customers.
Then it wandered into Walmart and found its owner working at the register.

Germany's tech sector has hailed the government's decision to allow some electronic-only securities—a move that paves the way for "crypto securities" to be entered into a blockchain-based register.
Annie Lee Cooper, well played by Winfrey, is shown trying but failing to register to vote.
Many dance instructors register their classes at gyms and teach women or men (separately) under the name of aerobics.
Nor are we told that she lost her job at a local nursing home after she tried to register to vote in 1964.
"They refused to register a case, saying the matter is out of their hands," he told me.
Even the valor of tragedy is denied to Daisy, "a woman born with a voice that lacks a tragic register."
Girls are just like cats; they all like to mope around the register or the steam radiator in cold weather.
He scrutinized the register, and found, to his satisfaction, that a Mr. Bowman of Boston was occupying room 106.
You file some papers, you collate some register, you sign your name or your initials to some documents.
If you have written since, your letter also has miscarried, as is much the rule in this part of the world, unless you register.
Have just had breakfast, written up one letter, register and close this.

British Dictionary definitions for register

noun

an official or formal list recording names, events, or transactions

the book in which such a list is written

an entry in such a list

a recording device that accumulates data, totals sums of money, etc a cash register

a movable plate that controls the flow of air into a furnace, chimney, room, etc

computing one of a set of word-sized locations in the central processing unit in which items of data are placed temporarily before they are operated on by program instructions

music

the timbre characteristic of a certain manner of voice production See head voice, chest voice
any of the stops on an organ as classified in respect of its tonal quality the flute register

printing

the correct alignment of the separate plates in colour printing
the exact correspondence of lines of type, columns, etc, on the two sides of a printed sheet of paper

a form of a language associated with a particular social situation or subject matter, such as obscene slang, legal language, or journalese

the act or an instance of registering

verb

(tr) to enter or cause someone to enter (an event, person's name, ownership, etc) on a register; formally record

to show or be shown on a scale or other measuring instrument the current didn't register on the meter

to show or be shown in a person's face, bearing, etc his face registered surprise

(intr) to have an effect; make an impression the news of her uncle's death just did not register

to send (a letter, package, etc) by registered post

(tr) printing to adjust (a printing press, forme, etc) to ensure that the printed matter is in register

(intr often foll by with) (of a mechanical part) to align (with another part)

military to bring (a gun) to bear on its target by adjustment according to the accuracy of observed single rounds

Derived forms of register

registerer, noun registrable, adjective

Word Origin for register

C14: from Medieval Latin registrum, from Latin regerere to transcribe, from re- + gerere to bear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012