document

American  

[dok-yuh-muhnt, dok-yuh-ment] / ˈdɒk yə mənt, ˈdɒk yəˌmɛnt /

noun

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.

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verb (used with object)

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

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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

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

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

Its inscrutability to ordinary people is part of what robs the document of whatever power it may have had at a third the length.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

I found a document releasing people convicted of first-degree murder so they could give a talk at a Masonic lodge or play chess at a high school tournament.

From Slate • May 27, 2026

Leo has made the hot-button issue a cornerstone of his papacy in dedicating to it his first encyclical -- a document which lays the basis for Church teaching and longer-term debate.

From Barron's • May 25, 2026

Notaries public, meanwhile, have both ethical and legal duties to refuse notarization if they believe a signer does not understand the nature or consequences of the document they are executing.

From MarketWatch • May 25, 2026

“This sounds like something only you would plan. I’d like to document this for my channel. Is that okay?”

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Related Words

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