Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

clerk

Syllabification: (clerk)
Pronunciation: /klərk/
Translate clerk | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of clerk

noun

  • 1a person employed in an office or bank to keep records and accounts and to undertake other routine administrative duties:a bank clerk
  • an official in charge of the records of a local council or court:a clerk to the court
  • a lay officer of a cathedral, parish church, college chapel, etc.:a chapter clerk
  • 2 (also desk clerk) chiefly North American a receptionist in a hotel.
  • an assistant in a store; a salesclerk.
  • 3 (also clerk in holy orders) formal a member of the clergy.

verb

[no object] chiefly North American
  • work as a clerk:eleven of those who left college this year are clerking in auction houses

Derivatives

clerkish

adjective

Origin:

Old English cleric, clerc (in the sense 'ordained minister, literate person'), from ecclesiastical Latin clericus 'clergyman' (see cleric); reinforced by Old French clerc, from the same source. sense 1 of the noun dates from the early 16th century

clerk in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of clerk in the British & World English dictionary
  |  Cite
Oxford Dictionaries Pro

For Oxford's best resources for writers, plus thesaurus, audio, and 1.9m examples.

Shop for an Oxford dictionary

Find the perfect Oxford dictionary for you in our online shop.
SHOP NOW ►

Word of the day

monocular

/ məˈnäkyələr /
adjective , noun
with, for, or in one eye …