readingnoun
uk/ˈriː.dɪŋ/us/ˈriː.dɪŋ/reading noun (WRITTEN TEXT)
A1 [ U ] the skill or activity of getting information from books:
Reading and tennis are my favourite pastimes.
The diaries make good (bedtime) reading (= are good to read (in bed at night)).
These books are compulsory/required reading for students of architecture.
C2 [ C ] an occasion when something written, especially a work of literature, is spoken to an audience:
The society often arranges poetry readings and musical evenings.
More examples
- I wish I could find (the) time to do more reading.
- I do a lot of reading in my free time.
- I want some light reading for the summer holidays - a romance or something.
- Students are expected to do some background reading before the course starts.
- The school uses a combination of modern and traditional methods for teaching reading.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Reading
- cross-reference
- deconstruct
- deconstruction
- devour
- dyslexia
- flip
- hermeneutic
- leaf through sth
- peruse
- read sth over/through
- reader
- readership
- reading knowledge
- reference
- riffle
- run your eye over sth idiom
- scan
- skim
- thumb
- thumb through sth
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reading noun (UNDERSTANDING)
[ C ] the way in which you understand something:
My reading of the situation is that John wanted any excuse to resign.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Understanding and comprehending
- apprehend
- apprehension
- at your fingertips idiom
- attune
- bear in on/upon
- common
- fathom
- feel
- fingertip
- hit
- make sth/sb of sth/sb
- make sth/sb out
- mind
- penetrate
- picture
- read between the lines idiom
- realization
- take sth in
- twig
- understand
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reading noun (PARLIAMENT)
[ C ] In a parliament, a reading of a new law is one of the stages of discussion before it is approved:
The Housing Bill was given its second reading in Parliament today.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
UK politics: legislation & law-making
- abolish
- abrogate
- amendment
- assemblyman
- assemblywoman
- constitution
- constitutional
- enforce
- jurisprudence
- lawmaker
- legalize
- legislate
- legislative
- legitimate
- passage
- prohibition
- proscribe
- quash
- repeal
- rescind
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reading noun (MEASUREMENT)
[ C ] the number or amount that a piece of measuring equipment shows:
a thermometer reading
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Measurements in general
- bathymetry
- deep
- dimension
- distance
- draught
- drop
- floor-length
- hecto-
- imperial
- length
- length
- linear
- measurable
- mega
- pico-
- pitch
- ply
- tyre pressure
- vital statistics
- wheelbase
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