register

Everyday

1. A register is an official list of names or things, like the list a teacher uses to check who is at school. tree →
2. To register is to put your name on an official list, for example for a club or to vote. tree →
3. A cash register is the machine in a shop that holds the money and adds up prices. tree →
4. To register can also mean to notice or understand something, or for a machine to show a number. tree →
5. In music and language, a register is how high or low a voice goes, or how formal the words are. tree →

In the lessons

At school in the UK, Ireland and Australia, the teacher «takes the register» or «calls the register» each morning; in the USA people say «take attendance». In shops, the cash register adds up prices. In science, an instrument «registers» a reading. Phrases: «take the register», «cash register», «register for», «it didn't register».

Examples

• The teacher took the register at nine o'clock. tree →
• Mum registered me for swimming lessons. tree →
• The cashier put the money in the register. tree →
• You must register a new car with the government. tree →
• The thermometer registered thirty degrees. tree →
• My name did not register in her mind at first. tree →
• The bad news took a while to register. tree →
• Every dog must be registered with the council. tree →

Note

Countable noun. Past form: registered. «Take the register» is British and Commonwealth; Americans say «take attendance» or «take roll». «It didn't register» means you did not notice or understand it. Spelling: register, not «registar».

In Jewish tradition

It means an official list of names, such as the list of the people in a city or of priestly families.

Interpretation. In Ezra, men who could not prove their priestly descent were barred from the priesthood. The tradition reads this as showing how seriously birth records were kept.

Examples

• The LORD shall count in the register of the peoples: 'This one was born there.' Selah (Writings PSA.87.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• These sought their register, that is, the genealogy, but it was not found; therefore were they deemed polluted and put from the priesthood. (Writings EZR.2.62, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable noun. Past form: registered. «Take the register» is British and Commonwealth; Americans say «take attendance» or «take roll». «It didn't register» means you did not notice or understand it. Spelling: register, not «registar».