article

American  

[ahr-ti-kuhl] / ˈɑr tɪ kəl /

noun

• articles
  plural

1. a written composition in prose, usually nonfiction, on a specific topic, forming an independent part of a book or other publication, as a newspaper or magazine.

2. an individual object, member, or portion of a class; an item or particular: articles of clothing.

   an article of food;

   articles of clothing.

3. something of indefinite character or description.

   What is that article?

4. an item for sale; commodity.

5. Grammar. any member of a small class of words, or, as in Swedish or Romanian, affixes, found in certain languages, as English, French, and Arabic, that are linked to nouns and that typically have a grammatical function identifying the noun as a noun rather than describing it. In English the definite article is the, the indefinite article is a or an, and their force is generally to impart specificity to the noun or to single out the referent from the class named by the noun.

6. a clause, item, point, or particular in a contract, treaty, or other formal agreement; a condition or stipulation in a contract or bargain.

   The lawyers disagreed on the article covering plagiarism suits.

7. a separate clause or provision of a statute.

8. Slang. a person.

   Trust me, this guy's not just any article, he's Mr. Right.

9. Archaic. a subject or matter of interest, thought, business, etc.

10. Obsolete. a specific or critical point of time; juncture or moment.

    the article of death.

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verb (used with object)

articled, articling

1. to set forth in articles; charge or accuse specifically.

   They articled his alleged crimes.

2. to bind by articles of covenant or stipulation.

   to article an apprentice.

article British  

/ ˈɑːtɪkəl /

noun

1. one of a class of objects; item

   an article of clothing

2. an unspecified or previously named thing, esp a small object

   he put the article on the table

3. a distinct part of a subject or action

4. a written composition on a subject, often being one of several found in a magazine, newspaper, etc

5. grammar a kind of determiner, occurring in many languages including English, that lacks independent meaning but may serve to indicate the specificity of reference of the noun phrase with which it occurs See also definite article indefinite article

6. a clause or section in a written document such as a treaty, contract, statute, etc

7. formerly, undergoing training, according to the terms of a written contract, in the legal profession

8. (often capital) Christianity See article of faith Thirty-nine Articles

9. archaic a topic or subject

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verb

1. archaic to accuse

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subarticle
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• articles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of article

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Medieval Latin articulus “article of faith,” Latin: “joint, limb, member, clause, grammatical article,” equivalent to arti- (combining form of artus “joint”; akin to arthro-, arm ² ) + -culus diminutive ( see -cule ¹)

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Explanation

A piece of non-fiction prose written for a publication is one kind of article. But a piece of a collection of something is also an article, like an article of clothing. If you're talking grammar, definite and indefinite articles are words, such as a, an, and the, whose purpose is to indicate, specify and limit a noun. An article of faith is something that is firmly believed. And an article of organization or incorporation is a section of a legal document that sets out rules for a company.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

article articles articled articling

In your 20s, as I wrote in my last article, you’re brand new to saving for the future and spending on the big-ticket items, like a car or an apartment.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

The original article incorrectly said it lowered its target price to HK$162.00.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

While this is indeed what the Journal used as a headline in a recent story, the president did not link to the article or give more info beyond that.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026

The Bloomberg article suggested SpaceX was looking to lease or acquire 80,000 cell sites across the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

I even wrote an article for my school newspaper about it.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

The company highlighted its “cult status” in an earnings presentation, with a slide showing multiple articles from People magazine on celebrities who enjoy Cheesecake fare.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

While some journalists twisted their movie and television coverage around major plot events, others tackled them head-on, writing “ending explained” and “twist revealed” articles for readers who wanted to skip to the point.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

His legal team played audio recordings, presented scientific articles and even a video of Maradona's autopsy, provoking the anger of the footballer's daughters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

The paper published articles of him "on a sunbed".

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

“Lindy’s drawing up articles of incorporation, which will protect your personal assets from any real or perceived vulnerabilities or liabilities of a professional nature.”

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

An earlier version of this articled misidentified the president whom Michael Jordan skipped out on meeting.

From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2018

After leaving school in 1944 to become articled to a firm of accountants, he continued with semi-professional "vent shows" several nights a week.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 20, 2013

Briefly Frank was articled to a Cheltenham estate agent, before joining the Stroud News as a local reporter in 1956.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 25, 2013

When he was 16, Thomas Hardy was articled to a Dorchester architect.

From Time Magazine Archive

He would talk to Sidelsky about taking me on as an articled clerk.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

If we demur to a doctrine because we cannot fully and adequately comprehend it, is not this too familiar from a creature towards his Creator, and articling more strictly with Almighty God than becomes us?'

From The English Church in the Eighteenth Century by Charles J. (Charles John) Abbey

Fortunately he went on probation of three weeks before articling.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 Sexual Inversion by Havelock Ellis

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Related Words

• column
• commentary
• editorial
• essay
• feature
• item
• paper
• piece
• story

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