document
Americannoun
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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.
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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.
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Digital Technology. a computer data file, especially one with formatted text.
Luckily, I saved my document right before the power went out.
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Archaic. evidence; proof.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish with documents.
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to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made.
a carefully documented biography.
- Synonyms:
- validate, substantiate, verify, corroborate
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to support by documentary evidence.
to document a case.
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Nautical. to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.
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Obsolete. to instruct.
noun
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a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature
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a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software
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archaic evidence; proof
verb
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to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etc
the trial was well documented by the media
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to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc
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to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof
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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
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.
The newly surfaced messages to Maxwell, which he sent two decades ago, came in a tranche of Epstein-related documents recently made public by the Department of Justice.
From Los Angeles Times
The case file "comprises nearly 2,000 pages and includes more than 8,500 physical documents; 263 civil parties have been identified and are represented by 74 lawyers," it said.
From Barron's
The report added there was "no documented procedure available for the storing of live lobster, in particular control measures in relation to the water treatment, water temperature, salinity, waste filtration".
From BBC
A document apparently sent by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to Jeffrey Epstein included information on investment opportunities in gold and uranium in Afghanistan.
From BBC
Those that are interested in participating in the project voluntarily hand over documents on policies, tools and product features.
From Los Angeles Times
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.