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:
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
“I told myself I was only going to chronicle the decadence,” says narrator Bret, “an excuse I’d return to many times in my career.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Ms. Barker’s chronicle teems with people I would gently describe as not normal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 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
Their goal was ambitious: to write History of Woman Suffrage, a comprehensive chronicle of the women’s movement.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Mindy Kaling’s “Not Suitable for Work” chronicles five ambitious neighbors in Manhattan looking to jump-start their careers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"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
The program’s first film will be the documentary “Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt,” which debuted last year at South by Southwest and chronicles the history of the punk rock band.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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
For these reasons, some scholars dismiss the chronicles entirely.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
All of them chronicled their holidays on social media, giving the Greek tourism industry a massive hit of free advertising.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
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
One of her biggest writers is the author-activist Glennon Doyle, who has chronicled addiction, divorce and an unexpected romance with soccer player Abby Wambach across a string of blockbuster self-help memoirs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Wahzhazhe chronicled the sweeping history of the Osage, including the period of the Reign of Terror.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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
The 43-year-old became widely known following a Netflix documentary chronicling his journey, 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, released two years later.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 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
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.
