reading

«reading» in Mova's school dictionary: looking at written words and understanding them — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (reading, readings); verb (-ing form of read)

meaning for a pupil

1) Reading is looking at written words and understanding them. tree →

2) A reading is a piece of writing read aloud to people, as in church or at a wedding. tree →

3) A reading is the number shown on a measuring instrument, like a thermometer or meter. tree →

4) A reading is the way you understand something, an interpretation. tree →

5) (UK) Reading is also the name of a town in England, said «RED-ing». tree →

6) (law) A reading is a stage when a new law is discussed in parliament. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school, reading is a core subject: reading books, reading comprehension, reading aloud. In church, people read readings from the Bible. In science, pupils take readings from thermometers, scales and rulers. Phrases: «reading book», «take a reading», «the first reading», «a reading age», «light reading».

examples

• Reading every evening helps you learn new words. tree →
• My reading book is about a talking fox. tree →
• The first reading in church was from the Book of Isaiah. tree →
• Take a reading from the thermometer every hour. tree →
• The meter reading shows how much electricity we used. tree →
• My reading of the poem is that it is about loneliness. tree →
• We drove through Reading on the way to London. tree →
• "Brothers!" said Vanya, "I've done my share of reading. tree →

note

«Reading» the activity is uncountable; a reading (Bible passage, measurement) is countable. Pronunciation trap: «reading» (REE-ding) as the activity, but the town is «RED-ing». Science: always write the unit with a reading (21 °C, 3.5 kg).

In the corpora

• Laundry means sorting colours, reading labels and choosing the right temperature; a red sock in a white wash turns everything pink.
• Reading-log comments are meant to show what you thought, so copied ones are pointless.
• Most artists need reading, maths and business skills to manage money and deals, and many have other jobs, especially at first.
• Vets often take a pet's temperature with a thermometer under the tail, because it gives an accurate reading.
• Dogs have lived with people for thousands of years and have become experts at reading us: our pointing fingers, faces and voices.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «reading» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.