document

American  

[dok-yuh-muhnt, dok-yuh-ment] / ˈdɒk jə mənt, ˈdɒk jəˌmɛnt /

noun

• documents
  plural

1. a written or printed paper furnishing information or evidence, as a passport, deed, bill of sale, or bill of lading; a legal or official paper.

   You'll need documents from your employers and your bank to prepare your income tax return.

2. any written item, as a book, article, or letter, especially of a factual or informative nature.

   The leaked document proves that the management team knew about the safety issues before the product launch.

3. Digital Technology. a computer data file, especially one with formatted text.

   Luckily, I saved my document right before the power went out.

4. Archaic. evidence; proof.

---

verb (used with object)

• documents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• documented,
  past participle,  past
• documenting
  present participle

1. to furnish with documents.

2. to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made.

   a carefully documented biography.

   Synonyms:

   validate, substantiate, verify, corroborate

3. to support by documentary evidence.

   to document a case.

4. Nautical. to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.

5. Obsolete. to instruct.

document British  

noun

1. a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature

2. a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software

3. archaic evidence; proof

---

verb

1. to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etc

   the trial was well documented by the media

2. to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc

3. to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof

4. to furnish (a vessel) with official documents specifying its ownership, registration, weight, dimensions, and function

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• documenter
  noun
• redocument
  verb (used with object)
• documentable
  adjective
• nondocumented
  adjective
• well-documented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• documents
  plural

Participles

• documenting
  present
• documented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• document
  simple
• documents
  simple
• have documented
  perfect
• has documented
  perfect
• am documenting
  progressive
• are documenting
  progressive
• is documenting
  progressive
• have been documenting
  perfect progressive
• has been documenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• documented
  simple
• had documented
  perfect
• was documenting
  progressive
• were documenting
  progressive
• had been documenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will document
  simple
• will have documented
  perfect
• will be documenting
  progressive
• will have been documenting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of document

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin documentum “example (as precedent, warning, etc.),” from doc(ēre) “to teach” + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment

Explanation

A document is a piece of paper that contains official information. Don't you wish you had a document saying that the bank owed you $5 million? Document comes from the Latin verb meaning "to teach," so a document instructs you with the information it contains. Legal documents such as contracts contain instructions on how the people signing it will act. Passports, driver’s licenses and birth certificates are all official documents. As a verb, document means "to record in detail," or "offer supporting evidence for." If you call a company to complain about something, make sure to document your phone calls by noting the date you called, who you spoke to and what was said.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

document documents documented documenting

She started her own Instagram account to document her ride to riches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Some teachers also rely on phones in class for research, exercises and document sharing.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Applicants will have to register with the secretary of state, document a threat within the past year and receive a substitute address that government agencies must generally accept.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

The fact that a few characters typed and deleted in his mother’s kitchen became a document the school could act on.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Amelia’s mom walks with her cell phone held out, determined to document everything in pictures.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

She must also be of sound mind and/or have the legal capacity to understand and consent to the transaction and sign the necessary documents.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

The company is expected to unveil its IPO financial-disclosure documents in the next few weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Maxwell said Epstein-related documents released by the US Justice Department earlier this year supported her case that she had been wrongly convicted.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The filings involve the unauthorized use of copyrighted material such as “audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue, or other creative elements” from proprietary software owned by Take-Two, according to the documents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Some documents that had been made public were classified all over again.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

But a number of studies have documented the dangers posed by balloons once they end up in nature, particularly for marine life and birds.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

I want to make sure that her wishes are properly documented and that she is protected from any potential challenge to the new will.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

"According to available records, it is the largest bladder stone ever documented and removed through surgery," Dr Prahalahan Balakrishnan, who led the surgery, told BBC Sinhala.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

These features differ from those documented in previously known mosasaurs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

I'd filed a lengthy brief that documented the insufficiency of the evidence and raised every legal deficiency in the trial that I could identify.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

To break out of their rut, they began working their way through the cuisines of every country in the world at local restaurants and documenting their experience on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

This week, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she too was beginning the process of freezing her eggs, documenting the daily mechanics of giving herself hormone shots on social media.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

They’ve read the research documenting how the outdoors, including urban green spaces, improves cognition, social connection and physical strength, while decreasing depression and anxiety in all ages, but especially seniors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

"They have endured targeting, imprisonment, exile, and surveillance for simply reporting the news. It is an honor to recognize their commitment to documenting the truth."

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

“I’m documenting, I can’t interfere—it’s not my story.”

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• archive
• certificate
• diary
• evidence
• form
• paper
• record
• report
• script
• testimony