magazine

American  

[mag-uh-zeen, mag-uh-zeen] / ˌmæg əˈzin, ˈmæg əˌzin /

noun

• magazines
  plural

1. a publication that is issued periodically, usually bound in a paper cover, and typically contains essays, stories, poems, etc., by many writers, and often photographs and drawings, frequently specializing in a particular subject or area, as hobbies, news, or sports.

2. a room or place for keeping gunpowder and other explosives, as in a fort or on a warship.

3. a building or place for keeping military stores, as arms, ammunition, or provisions.

4. a metal receptacle for a number of cartridges, inserted into certain types of automatic weapons and when empty removed and replaced by a full receptacle in order to continue firing.

5. Also called magazine show. Radio and Television.

   1. Also called newsmagazine. a regularly scheduled news program consisting of several short segments in which various subjects of current interest are examined, usually in greater detail than on a regular newscast.

   2. a program with a varied format that combines interviews, commentary, entertainment, etc.

6. magazine section.

7. Photography. cartridge.

8. a supply chamber, as in a stove.

9. a storehouse; warehouse.

10. a collection of war munitions.

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magazine British  

/ ˌmæɡəˈziːn /

noun

1. a periodical paperback publication containing articles, fiction, photographs, etc

2. a metal box or drum holding several cartridges used in some kinds of automatic firearms; it is removed and replaced when empty

3. a building or compartment for storing weapons, explosives, military provisions, etc

4. a stock of ammunition

5. a device for continuously recharging a handling system, stove, or boiler with solid fuel

6. photog another name for cartridge

7. a rack for automatically feeding a number of slides through a projector

8. a TV or radio programme made up of a series of short nonfiction items

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• magazinish
  adjective
• magaziny
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• magazines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of magazine

First recorded in 1575–85; from French magasin, from Italian magazzino “warehouse, depot” from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan “storehouse”; in English figuratively, as “storehouse of information,” used in book titles (from c1640) and periodical titles (in The Gentleman's Magazine, 1731)

Explanation

A magazine is a printed publication that comes out regularly and includes photographs and articles. Before cell phones became popular, people used to read magazines in doctors' waiting rooms. Magazines were once only printed on paper, but today there are also online magazines. These electronic versions are similar to traditional magazines in that they publish periodically and include stories, illustrations or photos, and usually advertisements. The original definition of magazine was a space for ammunition storage, either in a building or ship, or attached to a weapon. The very first printed magazine was called "Gentleman's Magazine," from the idea that it was a "storehouse" of knowledge.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magazine magazines

Over the years, the magazine has ranked everything from Super Bowl halftime shows and horrible wedding songs to pre-YouTube viral hits and Declaration of Independence signatures.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

She also founded TheFlorentine.net, the English language magazine in Florence, Italy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Aircraft should ‘refuse to be destroyed,’” Don Bateman, the late Honeywell engineer, once told an industry magazine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“It’s just a little magazine story, and not my best work,” says Cohn.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

The authorities shut down the magazine, either for failing to advise investors correctly or for succeeding in advising investors incorrectly.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

With the help of his mother, he put photos of the children in British magazines such as Picture Post to help find them homes and organised for hostels to take in some refugees too.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Aler called New York from the Netherlands for a telephone press conference with 16 U.S. newspapers, wire services and magazines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

They didn’t locate any weapons, but they did find a pair of detached pistol magazines.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

I started collecting magazines such as the Visionaire and from there started buying clothes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

I thought about the ladies featured in magazines wearing sequined dresses and feather boas, the yellow Packard on the movie set earlier today, the patterned velvet and scrolled-arm furniture in the department store windows.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• booklet
• brochure
• daily
• journal
• manual
• newsletter
• newspaper
• pamphlet
• paper
• periodical
• weekly