document

American  

[dok-yuh-muhnt, dok-yuh-ment] / ˈdɒk yə mənt, ˈdɒk yəˌmɛnt /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Digital Technology.  a computer data file, especially one with formatted text.

   Luckily, I saved my document right before the power went out.

4. Archaic.  evidence; proof.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with documents.

2. to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made.

   a carefully documented biography.

   Synonyms:

   validate , substantiate , verify , corroborate

3. to support by documentary evidence.

   to document a case.

4. Nautical.  to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.

5. Obsolete.  to instruct.

document British  

noun

1. a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature

2. a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software

3. archaic  evidence; proof

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verb

1. to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etc

   the trial was well documented by the media

2. to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc

3. to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof

4. 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

The researchers also documented how the cells retrieved and recycled vesicles afterward, a process known as endocytosis.

From Science Daily

“Those involved all believed that the protections against attempts to access the document early offered by the system were indeed in place,” the review said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The document was accessed 43 times from 32 different IP addresses.

From BBC

In addition, you can organize his documents, including his Social Security number, bank statements, life-insurance policies, will and other legal documents in a safe place.

From MarketWatch

Bdap was granted refugee status by the United Nations but he had been detained in a Bangkok prison since December when he was jailed for staying in the country without proper travel documents.

From Barron's

Related Words

• archive
• certificate
• diary
• evidence
• form
• paper
• record
• report
• script
• testimony