reading: Meaning and Definition of

read•ing

1. the action or practice of a person who reads.
2. the oral interpretation of written language.
3. the interpretation given in the performance of a dramatic part, musical composition, etc.: an interesting reading of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.
4. the extent to which a person has read; literary knowledge: a man of wide reading.
5. matter read or for reading: a novel that makes good reading.
6. the form or version of a given passage in a particular text: the various readings of a line in Shakespeare.
7. an instance or occasion in which a text or other matter is read or performed, usually without elaborate preparation and often as a means of testing its merits: The playwright wants to have a reading of the play for prospective producers.
8. an interpretation given to anything: What is your reading of the situation?
9. the indication of a graduated instrument: The reading is 101.2°F.

1. pertaining to or used for reading: reading glasses.
2. given to reading: the reading public.

Read•ing

1. 1860–1935, Lord Chief Justice of England 1913–21; viceroy of India 1921–26.
2. a city in Berkshire, in S England. 132,900.
3. a city in SE Pennsylvania. 78,686.
4. a town in E Massachusetts, near Boston. 22,678.
5. a city in SW Ohio. 12,879.