chronicle
Americannoun
-
chronicles
plural
verb (used with object)
-
chronicles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chronicled,
past participle, past
-
chronicling
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chroniclesimple
-
chroniclessimple
-
have chronicledperfect
-
has chronicledperfect
-
am chroniclingprogressive
-
are chroniclingprogressive
-
is chroniclingprogressive
-
have been chroniclingperfect progressive
-
has been chroniclingperfect progressive
Past
-
chronicledsimple
-
had chronicledperfect
-
was chroniclingprogressive
-
were chroniclingprogressive
-
had been chroniclingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chronicle
1275–1325; Middle English cronicle < Anglo-French, variant, with -le -ule, of Old French cronique < Medieval Latin cronica (feminine singular), Latin chronica (neuter plural) < Greek chroniká annals, chronology; see chronic
Explanation
To chronicle an event is to record it as it happens, and a chronicle is a record of those events. If your grandmother took the time to chronicle the details of her 1910 journey to Japan, you can read her chronicle today. To chronicle something is to describe past or current events. Chronicle is related to chronological and comes from the Greek ta khronika, which means “annals of time.” Events are usually chronicled in the order in which they occurred. The noun chronicle is a record of things that happened — told in chronological order, like the diary you kept in elementary school. It is a chronicle of those years.
Vocabulary lists containing chronicle
It's About Time: Chron and Temp
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"The Gift of the Magi"
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The Skin I'm In
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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:
Theirs is that rare music chronicle that offers transcriptions of mandolin solos along with detailed arrest records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
That landmark picture features McElwee, then in his mid-30s, as he tries to chronicle the exploits of Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, who laid siege to the South during the Civil War.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
"The bigger vision is to stitch all of this together into a coherent timeline," Hennawi said: "a quasar chronicle of the first billion years."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
A selection of recent works of history and biography that chronicle the birth and youth of the American republic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
"In the morning, perhaps we will see the king march by. I'll record it for my chronicle."
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
"Katseye: Wild Hearts," which chronicles the pop girl group by the same name, came in fifth place, earning $3.6 million for Trafalgar Releasing on its opening weekend.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
It chronicles the negative social and public-health effects of legalization.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The landscape inspired the author C. S. Lewis to create his fictional land Narnia, the setting for his chronicles including, most famously, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Alas, the results are mixed, betraying the stark limits of this approach and the need for a kind of history that fully integrates anguished medieval chronicles with modern molecular evidence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“For example, it was not until I consulted the special archives here at Swanburne that I discovered the existence of a diary. An extraordinary, one-of-a-kind document. It chronicles the tale of a most...unusual seafaring expedition.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Renowned walker Cameron McNeish chronicled his journey from the most northerly point, Rubha Hunish, along the Trotternish Ridge, through the iconic Cuillin hills, to finish 70 miles away at Broadford.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
According to a dispute with a neighbor chronicled in court documents, Adelkoff and her then-husband acquired the home in 2002.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Mr. Futterman’s focus on superstars will leave some readers wishing he’d chronicled the occasional journeyman trying to scrape out wins and paychecks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Part essay, part documentary archive, it chronicled the discoveries she made as a private investigator and her attempt to renew her PI license that fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Edisto’s sayings will be chronicled in the forthcoming book A Short History of a Small Place: Snapfinger.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Jon Favreau, director of the live-action ‘Lion King,’ executive produces a documentary chronicling the life of big cat Kio from cubhood to becoming the leader of his pride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
She spent the last three years chronicling her daily life as a young person going through chemotherapy and living with cancer, with all its hopes, joys and struggles.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Many of his projects remain intact, including the ornamental lake he had dug, and a bathroom papered with a montage of original newspaper clippings chronicling major events from the early 20th century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Dramatists are more cognizant than ever of the sociopolitical import of these contradictions and they’ve been chronicling the way this historically freighted baggage emerges in the drama of everyday life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Where do I even begin with chronicling this train wreck?
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
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.
