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
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of memoir
First recorded in 1560–70; from French mémoire, from Latin memoria; see memory
Explanation
The beginning of a short memoir of your life might read like this: I was born on a dark and stormy night. My days remained blustery — school was difficult for me, and my parents argued all of the time. My luck changed when... A memoir is a person's own account of his or her life. Memoirs allow for a bit more literary freedom than autobiographies as they involve introspection and a creative view of your past. As you go through life or a phase in life, you can write things down in your memoirs so that at a later time, you can publish a memoir about it.
Vocabulary lists containing memoir
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Literary Genres - Introductory
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25 Words from "Baseball and Black History"
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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.
“No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped the Scene” is a powerful slice of storytelling that fills in gaps between other essential books about downtown New York City.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026
His second book, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery, is out this week and simply cannot be read for enjoyment.
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026
This essay is adapted from the author’s forthcoming book, ‘The Family Snitch: A Daughter’s Memoir of Truth and Lies,’ to be published on February 3 by Steerforth Press.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
Another banner year at the Celebrity Memoir Factory — a seemingly bottomless font of origin stories, trauma dumps and D-list confessions.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
There is a considerable correspondence between Taylor and Sir Richard Phillips in Robberds’s Memoir, and Phillips seemed always anxious to secure articles from Taylor for the Monthly, and even books for his publishing-house.
From The Life of George Borrow by Shorter, Clement K.
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.
