memoir

[mem-wahr, -wawr]

noun

1. a record of events written by a person having intimate knowledge of them and based on personal observation.

2. Usually memoirs.

   1. an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography.

   2. the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.

3. a biography or biographical sketch.

memoir

/ ˈmɛmwɑː /

noun

1. a biography or historical account, esp one based on personal knowledge

2. an essay or monograph, as on a specialized topic

3. obsolete,  a memorandum

Other Word Forms

• memoirist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of memoir¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from French mémoire, from Latin memoria; memory

Word History and Origins

Origin of memoir¹

C16: from French, from Latin memoria _memory

Example Sentences

Ms. Cheever takes a close look at her father through the lens of his fiction in “When All the Men Wore Hats,” which combines memoir and analysis of some of his most noteworthy short stories.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This marvel of a mash-up — part novel, part memoir, part effort to reconnect with a dead parent who never uttered an “I love you” — has as many pain points as life lessons.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Federline’s “You Thought You Knew” comes out Tuesday, two years after Spears published her memoir “The Woman in Me.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In her 2023 memoir “The Woman in Me,” she disputed having substance abuse issues and described the custody battle as “traumatizing,” accusing Federline of attempting to portray her as unstable.

Read more on Salon

Initially it was for a memoir, or some version of what was being asked for was a memoir.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• account 
• anecdote 
• autobiography 
• biography 
• chronicle 
• diary 
• essay 
• journal 
• life 
• life story www.thesaurus.com
• memory 
• narrative 
• note 
• recollection 
• reminiscence 
• thesis 
• treatise