diary
Americannoun
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diaries
plural
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a daily record, usually private, especially of the writer's own experiences, observations, feelings, attitudes, etc.
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a book for keeping such a record.
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a book or pad containing pages marked and arranged in calendar order, in which to note appointments and the like.
noun
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a personal record of daily events, appointments, observations, etc
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a book for keeping such a record
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of diary
1575–85; < Latin diārium daily allowance, journal, equivalent to di ( ēs ) day + -ārium -ary
Explanation
Dear diary, you are a written record of things that happen each day. Some people keep a diary while they’re traveling, others keep their secrets in a diary. Either way, keep out! Some diaries have a pretty cover and a tiny lock with a key, for keeping the contents safe from prying eyes. You can also call such a book a "journal," although traditionally a diary is written in each day, while a journal might have less frequent entries. The word diary comes from the Latin word diarium, "daily allowance," with its root of dies, or "day."
Vocabulary lists containing diary
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Lesson 2–3
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Excerpt from "Kira-Kira"
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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.
See Examples For:
“The Third Reich is coming,” Goebbels wrote in his diary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"When someone comes up to talk to me, I just agree with them, whatever they say," he laughed in the castle's diary room.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
They hiked along the Rhine, stayed in taverns and enjoyed, as Clara wrote in her diary, “the most wonderful things in nature.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"Maybe it was my fate to walk in with no legs," she told the diary room.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
A month after the election, he wrote in his diary, “Almost every one who comes to me wants something which he thinks I can and ought to give him.”
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
I say “meant to” because, like hormonal teenagers writing in diaries, AIs aren’t the most reliable narrators of their inner lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
So this date might be a good day for fans to mark in their diaries for a possible announcement.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Liu attracted followers on Chinese social media where he posted religious discussions, video diaries, and clips of himself singing.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Anthony Fauci’s diaries tell us what we already knew: Behind every public official’s confident assertions is a fallible human being.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
It looks like one of those fancy leather diaries.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
