journal
Americannoun
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a daily record, as of occurrences, experiences, or observations.
She kept a journal during her European trip.
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a newspaper, especially a daily one.
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a periodical or magazine, especially one published for a special group, learned society, or profession.
the October issue of The English Journal.
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a record, usually daily, of the proceedings and transactions of a legislative body, an organization, etc.
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Bookkeeping.
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a daybook.
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(in the double-entry method) a book into which all transactions are entered from the daybook or blotter to facilitate posting into the ledger.
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Nautical. a log or logbook.
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Machinery. the portion of a shaft or axle contained by a plain bearing.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a newspaper or periodical
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a book in which a daily record of happenings, etc, is kept
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an official record of the proceedings of a legislative body
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accounting
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Also called: Book of Original Entry. one of several books in which transactions are initially recorded to facilitate subsequent entry in the ledger
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another name for daybook
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the part of a shaft or axle in contact with or enclosed by a bearing
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a plain cylindrical bearing to support a shaft or axle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of journal
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French journal “daily,” from Late Latin diurnālis; see diurnal
Explanation
If you keep a daily––or at least somewhat regular––written account of your life, you are keeping a diary or journal. A journal is also a periodical, such as a scientific journal or a scholarly journal. Journal comes from an Old French word which meant daily (jour being the French word for day, as in soup du jour, or “soup of the day”). You can keep a journal in an old notebook, on the computer, or on scraps of paper, but if you keep it in a book made especially for that purpose, then that physical book (whether you've written in it or not) is called a journal.
Vocabulary lists containing journal
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Hole in My Life
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Writing - Introductory
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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:
A new report, published Monday in the journal American Psychologist by the American Psychological Assn., indicates that it does.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
The study was published in the Nature scientific journal earlier this week.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The findings, published in the open access journal Evolutionary Systematics, documented 32 different color forms, or "morphs," collected from three locations in Uttarakhand: Makku, Tala, and Mandal.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Video blogger Geng Hongwei, a 33-year-old graduate-school dropout, alleged in May that Shanghai University scientists faked data in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“The world is moving away from military ideals,” declared the influential British journal Review of Reviews, “and a period of peace, industry, and world-wide friendship is dawning.”
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The most respected scientific journals will not accept any study done on a specimen in a private collection.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
“I don’t have the support of having an outlet for anger, fear and grief,” said Kemper, who journals, prays and keeps a website with updates on her dad.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
Text a friend, ‘Do you want to do these stupid journals together?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
The findings were presented at the European Renal Association Congress in Glasgow, United Kingdom, and were simultaneously published in three leading medical journals: The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
Ms. Udell said that it was okay for journals to be private.
From "George" by Alex Gino
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.
