to carefully read through written or printed material to find and correct errors in spelling, grammar, or formatting.
Compound word from 'proof' (a test page of printed material before final printing) plus 'read.' The term became common in printing in the 1800s as part of publishing terminology.
Professional proofreaders read text backwards word-by-word to catch errors their brains would normally auto-correct—it's a fascinating example of how our brains trick us into seeing what we expect!
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