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

Instead, Grace says she met new people by joining her student magazine, and the radio and theatre societies.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The Atlantic magazine earlier this month said it had obtained the original book proposal, and found the published memoir diverged notably with Arday’s earlier accounts of his life and the proposal itself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The magazine said Macron's vacation routine also included boxing and running.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

She joined the Journal in 2026 from Reason magazine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The doctor was dressed in a gray suit like a picture in a magazine, and he was eating breakfast at a table on the porch.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Big Issue vendors are struggling to sell magazines in the UK's extreme heat, which is having an "immediate" impact on their earnings, Big Issue's managing director says.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Until then, besides magazines, you couldn’t just go on the internet and see what was happening over in the U.K. or even in New York.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

She is also a poet with work featured in various online literary magazines and she has a manuscript she’s trying to publish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Even more absurd is that it’s not because of the paper magazines, books or pamphlets that you have in your house.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Two hours later, the bathrooms are wiped down, my bedroom is visitor-ready with clean sheets, the family room is vacuumed, and the old magazines are in the recycling bin.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Related Words

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