recording

recording — noun

1. Something such as music, a person's voice, or moving images that has been captur

1.nounB1
Definition

Something such as music, a person's voice, or moving images that has been captured and stored electronically so that you can listen to it or watch it later.

Example

Rin listened to an old recording of her grandmother's voice on her phone.

recording of + [source]: voice, song, speech

The band's first recording sold over a million copies worldwide.

Common collocations
  • listen to a recording
  • watch a recording
  • old recording
  • live recording
  • a recording of
Synonyms
  • track

    specifically a single song or piece of music on an album

  • clip

    a short segment, often extracted from a longer recording

  • footage

    recorded video material, especially of real events

Grammar Patterns

a recording of [voice/music/speech/video]

Usage Note

Countable. Can refer to audio-only content (a song, a speech) or audio-visual content (a film, a TV show). The content being played back is different from the physical object that stores it — see sense 3.

Common Mistakes

I listened to a recording song.
I listened to a recording of a song.
'recording' needs 'of' before what was captured.

2. The act or business of capturing sound, voice, or moving images with microphones

2.nounB1
Definition

The act or business of capturing sound, voice, or moving images with microphones, cameras, or other devices so that people can replay them.

Example

Recording a full orchestra requires careful placement of the microphones.

gerund subject: recording + object

Outside noise forced the team to stop the podcast recording.

noun modifier: podcast recording

Common collocations
  • recording studio
  • recording session
  • recording equipment
  • recording engineer
  • sound recording
  • video recording
  • recording process
Synonyms
  • production

    broader term covering the entire process of making a finished audio or video product

  • capture

    emphasises the moment of recording rather than the ongoing process

Grammar Patterns

recording + [noun]: recording session, recording studio

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when describing the activity or industry as a whole. Frequently paired with nouns like 'studio', 'session', 'engineer', 'equipment' to form compound terms.

Common Mistakes

Recording is the process of record sounds.
Recording is the process of capturing sounds.
'record' as a verb, not a noun, is needed to describe the action.

3. A physical object or digital file — for example, a vinyl record, cassette tape,

3.nounB2
Definition

A physical object or digital file — for example, a vinyl record, cassette tape, CD, or MP3 file — that holds recorded sound or video and is thought of as the container rather than the content inside it.

Example

Isabela prefers buying recordings on vinyl for their warm sound quality.

recording on [medium]: vinyl, CD, digital

The old cassette recordings sat untouched in the attic for years.

Common collocations
  • on vinyl
  • on CD
  • on cassette
  • digital recording
  • physical recording
  • back up recordings
Synonyms
  • record

    specifically a vinyl disc, not a general term for any medium

  • disc

    refers to a CD, DVD, or vinyl record as a round flat object

Grammar Patterns

recording on [medium]: recording on vinyl, recording on CD

Usage Note

Countable. Refers to the container (the physical object or digital file) rather than the content stored in it. For the content itself, use sense 1.

Common Mistakes

I dropped my recording and it broke.' (unclear whether you mean the disc or the file)
I dropped the CD and it broke.
be specific about the medium when damage is involved.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to recorded content, but they differ in scope and medium. 'Recording' is the broadest term — it covers any captured sound or video, from a single voice memo to a full concert film. 'Track' is limited to a single piece of music on an album or playlist; you would not call a voice memo or a speech a 'track'. 'Clip' describes a short excerpt taken from a longer recording — for example, a 30-second scene from a movie or a highlight from a speech. 'Footage' refers specifically to recorded video, especially unedited or documentary-style material of real events. In everyday use: 'I need to find the recording of yesterday's meeting'; for a specific song on the album: 'This is my favourite track'; for a short preview: 'They showed a clip from the new film'; for news video: 'The news station played the footage of the protest.'

recording ↗track ↗clip ↗footage ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • make a recording
  • digital recording
  • audio recording
  • video recording
  • a recording of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The noun 'recording' comes from the verb 'record' plus the suffix '-ing'. 'Record' entered English through Old French 'recorder', from Latin 'recordari' meaning 'to remember, call to mind' — formed from 're-' (again) and 'cor' (heart or mind). Originally, to record was to commit something to memory. By the 14th century, it had come to mean writing down information for official purposes. The modern technological meaning — capturing sound and images electronically — emerged in the late 19th century with the invention of the phonograph and later film and digital recording equipment.