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:
“Neurodegenerative mortality was nearly four times higher in NFL players compared with the general population and remained threefold higher after accounting for competing risks,” they reported in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
They had extraordinary libraries, unmatched journal collections, specialized archives, distinguished faculty and research assistance unavailable almost anywhere else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
For a while, I kept a soup journal.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, external, did not name the interviewees - keeping participants anonymous so they felt free to share their stories.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Oh, that’s not, um, what I’m reading,” I say, stuffing the journal into Gram’s satchel and pulling out The World at the End of the Tunnel.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
He relied on care packages sent by family and friends, exercised, meditated and kept journals that he later used to write his book.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The results were published in Nature, one of the world's most prestigious scientific journals.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
On Wednesday, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America simultaneously issued guidelines in various medical journals.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
The bulk of the book, especially the passages from M’s journals, are given to dewy philosophizing on the purpose of creation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
All of them come from the journals written in the last few months.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
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.
