memoir
Americannoun
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a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.
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Usually memoirs.
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an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography.
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the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.
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a biography or biographical sketch.
noun
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a biography or historical account, esp one based on personal knowledge
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an essay or monograph, as on a specialized topic
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obsolete a memorandum
Other Word Forms
- memoirist noun
Etymology
Origin of memoir
First recorded in 1560–70; from French mémoire, from Latin memoria; memory
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.
Her memoir, which was based in part on Burden’s popular New York Times Modern Love essay “Was I Married to a Stranger?”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
People on the internet seem to be taking Lindy West’s memoir as millennial feminism’s final death knell.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
Ernest Hemingway’s memoir, “A Moveable Feast,” opens with him as a young man in 1920s Paris worrying about the cost of heating his apartment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Recording sessions took several years, fitted in around McCartney's hectic touring schedule, as well as the production of the Beatles documentary Get Back and the writing of a memoir about the star's 1970s band, Wings.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
She even hoped to find a writer to work with her on a memoir.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
