documentation

American  

[dok-yuh-men-tay-shuhn, -muhn-] / ˌdɒk jə mɛnˈteɪ ʃən, -mən- /

noun

• documentations
  plural

1. the use of documentary evidence.

2. a furnishing with documents, as to substantiate a claim or the data in a book or article.

3. Computers. manuals, listings, diagrams, and other hard- or soft-copy written and graphic materials that describe the use, operation, maintenance, or design of software or hardware.

   The documentation for the driver program is displayed on the screen.

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documentation British  

/ ˌdɒkjʊmɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of supplying with or using documents or references

2. the documents or references supplied

3. the furnishing and use of documentary evidence, as in a court of law

4. computing the written comments, graphical illustrations, flowcharts, manuals, etc, supplied with a program or software system

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• documentational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• documentations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of documentation

First recorded in 1745–55; document + -ation

Explanation

Your driver's license is documentation of your age, address, and that you have passed the tests required to drive a car. Documentation is certifiable proof, or a set of official documents. Your new computer probably came with a packet of documentation that shows you how to use it and explains what to do when it breaks. In this sense, documentation means the official documents of your computer. If you are the person preparing a packet of information about how to use a computer program to keep attendance at school, you are preparing the documentation of that process.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

documentation documentations

The agency said that in Chad, 319,000 refugees faced registration delays, leaving them without the documentation to access services, while around 233,000 children could lose child protection services.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Bring all necessary documentation and be prepared to wait if there’s a line — even if you have an appointment.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Californians over 70 were already able to excuse themselves from jury duty for medical reasons without documentation upon selection, but AB 1359 will allow octogenarians to do so permanently.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

"This case study highlights the need for continued systematic documentation of rare neonatal mortality events to better understand the cognitive, emotional, and evolutionary significance of post-mortem behavior in large whales," he said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

But there are no photographs to document Ashoke’s childhood; not until his passport, not until his life in America, does visual documentation exist.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

To avoid paying the premium that the law requires, Chipotle created false documentations of “waivers,” the investigation found.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2022

What might seem like insider jokes about art, branding and “lifestyles” ultimately resulted in cringe-worthy documentations of downtown New York’s transformation into a retail mecca, with artists pushed out by gentrification.

From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2020

“You have to produce some documentations supporting your contention.”

From US News ● May 18, 2016

Douglas did not respond to repeated interview requests from The Associated Press, but campaign spokeswoman Sandra Dowling said Friday that “there are plenty of documentations to completely validate Diane Douglas’ position on Common Core.”

From Washington Times ● Oct. 31, 2014

If we get enough, we will re-release this file, with the lengthy documentations at the end of the file contained herein.

From The Jargon File, Version 2.9.10, 01 Jul 1992 by Eric S. Raymond

Related Words

• affidavit
• authentication
• authorization
• certification
• coupon
• credential
• deed
• diploma
• guarantee
• license
• paper
• permit
• receipt
• ticket
• voucher
• warrant
• warranty