memoir

[ mem-wahr, -wawr ]

/ ˈmɛm wɑr, -wɔr /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR memoir ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Usually memoirs.

an account of one's personal life and experiences; autobiography.
the published record of the proceedings of a group or organization, as of a learned society.

a biography or biographical sketch.

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!

Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!

Question 1 of 10

Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.

Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.

It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.

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Origin of memoir

1560–70; < French mémoire < Latin memoria; see memory

SYNONYMS FOR memoir

2a journal, recollections, reminiscences.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR memoir ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby memoir

memento mori, memling, memnon, memnonia, memo, memoir, memoirist, memoirs, memorabilia, memorabiliast, memorable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for memoir

What made you want to write a memoir now about your “addiction” to film?
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The memoir follows Oswalt from 1995 to 1999 as he was starting out on his comedy career in Los Angeles.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The woman in question, meanwhile, has business of her own to take care of—she is reported to be shopping a memoir.
From Playboy Prince to Dirty Old Man?|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For years, Brooke even had trouble finding a publisher for his memoir, which was ultimately accepted by Rutgers University Press.
Ed Brooke: The Senate's Civil Rights Pioneer and Prophet of a Post-Racial America|John Avlon|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Now, the goalkeeper is out with a memoir about his life until that point: The Keeper: A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them.
Tim Howard’s Wall of Intensity|William O’Connor|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had to content himself with continuing his memoir on infantile cholera and his observations on the silk-worm moth.
Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916|Olga Metchnikoff
The subsequent melancholy event, recorded in the Memoir, at once extinguished all further hopes on the subject.
The Works of William Cowper|William Cowper
The second memoir was sent to the Royal Society on December 19, 1844.
Faraday As A Discoverer|John Tyndall
These qualities were possessed in no common degree by Ann Hasseltine, the subject of this memoir.
Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons|Arabella W. Stuart
I am also aware that I may hereby cast a suspicion of the spirit of a wild projector, over the subject of this memoir.
Papers from Overlook-House|Casper Almore

British Dictionary definitions for memoir

memoir

/ (ˈmɛmwɑː) /

noun

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

an essay or monograph, as on a specialized topic

obsolete a memorandum

Derived forms of memoir

memoirist, noun

Word Origin for memoir

C16: from French, from Latin memoria memory

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

memoir

noun

QUIZZES

TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!

Origin of memoir

SYNONYMS FOR memoir

Words nearby memoir

Words related to memoir

Example sentences from the Web for memoir

British Dictionary definitions for memoir

noun

Derived forms of memoir

Word Origin for memoir