document
Americannoun
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a written or printed paper furnishing information or evidence, as a passport, deed, bill of sale, or bill of lading; a legal or official paper.
You'll need documents from your employers and your bank to prepare your income tax return.
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any written item, as a book, article, or letter, especially of a factual or informative nature.
The leaked document proves that the management team knew about the safety issues before the product launch.
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Digital Technology. a computer data file, especially one with formatted text.
Luckily, I saved my document right before the power went out.
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Archaic. evidence; proof.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with documents.
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to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made.
a carefully documented biography.
- Synonyms:
- validate, substantiate, verify, corroborate
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to support by documentary evidence.
to document a case.
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Nautical. to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.
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Obsolete. to instruct.
noun
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a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature
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a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software
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archaic evidence; proof
verb
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to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etc
the trial was well documented by the media
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to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc
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to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof
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to furnish (a vessel) with official documents specifying its ownership, registration, weight, dimensions, and function
Other Word Forms
- documentable adjective
- documenter noun
- nondocumented adjective
- redocument verb (used with object)
- well-documented adjective
Etymology
Origin of document
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin documentum “example (as precedent, warning, etc.),” from doc(ēre) “to teach” + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Motyl gave the BBC dozens of what he described as "high-level research documents showing all sorts of harms to users on these platforms".
From BBC
At one point, Arkapaw rushed off the engraving platform to retrieve her phone from an assistant to document the moment.
From Los Angeles Times
Clampett cited documents, which stated his business was visited by an environmental health officer from Mansfield District Council in May and June 2025.
From BBC
AFP and SourceMaterial used trade data, including some supplied by T&E, shareholder agreements, and customs documents obtained through freedom of information requests to ascertain the identities of three of those arrested.
From Barron's
The man, who has not been named, appeared in court in Ystad after being arrested on Friday by the Swedish Prosecution Authority on suspicion of using forged documents.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
