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:
The event was preserved in the "Spring and Autumn Annals," a historical chronicle compiled approximately 200 to 300 years later.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
The novel then launches into the curator’s imagined chronicle of the medieval era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
It constitutes a harrowing chapter in “Serling,” a biography by Alan Sepinwall that mixes a cradle-to-grave chronicle with smart observation and analysis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Like many of the best covers, Harris sings this young girl’s chronicle of her long-suffering mother’s sacrifices with such natural assurance that you’d think “To Daddy” had been written for her.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Japan’s Emperor Akihito, who reigns today, is the 82nd direct descendant of the emperor under whom that first chronicle of A.D.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Joe Barrett chronicles Stafford’s unraveling and the growing peril of digital love traps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
In her new memoir, “Famesick,” Dunham chronicles her struggles with debilitating illness over six seasons of her hit HBO show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
In Rent, Matarazzo plays struggling film-maker Mark, who chronicles and narrates the lives of his friends.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Documentarian Alex Gibney chronicles the attack on—and recovery of—the acclaimed author, a target of the Iranian regime for decades due to his novel ‘The Satanic Verses.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The chronicles are also full of accounts of Koreans in Japan and of Japanese in Korea—interpreted by Japanese or Korean historians respectively as evidence of Japanese conquest of Korea or the reverse.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
As ecologist Doug Tallamy has chronicled, over 90% of herbivorous insects specialize on one or a few native plant lineages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
The scandal fueled a media circus and was chronicled in a book, multiple podcasts, and the biographical mini-series "The Dropout" that starred Amanda Seyfried.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Many recent revolutionary inventions have been almost accidental, Cole found as he chronicled the tales of companies like Novo Nordisk and Google.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Michael Burry, the contrarian ex-hedge-fund manager chronicled in The Big Short, is selling his top holding at an 8.5-year low.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
As the house lights dimmed in the Apollo Theatre, the flickering images of black-and-white photographs and film clips on the screen chronicled my father’s life.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Last week, another emotional documentary chronicling the tour - and featuring the reconciled brothers' first joint interview since their acrimonious split in 2009 - was released in UK cinemas, following its premiere in Venice.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
But the bright-eyed cameraman often turned the lens to his own community, chronicling small but meaningful moments shaping everyday life in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
It was restarted from scratch in 2013 with a new trilogy dubbed "Survivor", chronicling the adventures of a younger, less experienced Lara.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The journalist Michael Wolff, who has been chronicling Trump for years, says he obtained both letters while writing a book about the president’s 2024 campaign.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
As his subjects grew older, Terman issued updates on their progress, chronicling their extraordinary achievements.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
