journal
Americannoun
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journals
plural
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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:
The book’s first section is told in through Eddy’s journal entries as he describes the contentious rehearsals that bring together a group of closeted Kingstonians of different ages, classes and levels of sexual candor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
A 2020 study published in British medical journal The Lancet claimed there were only 500 qualified child psychiatrists in the country, and many of them were based in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The results were published online in the international journal Nature Communications on July 16.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
I could see Hannie’s writing on the pages of the journal.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
This revelation comes just days after copies of Fauci’s journals were publicly released following their transfer from HHS to Congress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He also noted that a retired professor had previously raised concerns about Arday's subsequent academic articles, which led to two journals issuing correction notes.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Family secrets and sibling drama: A reader is distraught that their siblings threw away their late father’s journals, which held clues about who he really was.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
The diminishing returns of instant gratification might explain why catalogs are nearly always, according to trade publications and business journals, on the verge of a renaissance.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
“All the journals from Maine to Texas seemed to strive with each other to see which could make our movement appear the most ridiculous,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote in her autobiography.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
