narration

American  

[na-ray-shuhn] / næˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• narrations
  plural

1. something narrated; an account, story, or narrative.

2. the act or process of narrating.

3. a recital of events, especially in chronological order, as the story narrated in a poem or the exposition in a drama.

4. Rhetoric. (in classical speech) the third part, the exposition of the question.

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narration British  

/ nəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of narrating

2. a narrated account or story; narrative

3. (in traditional rhetoric) the third step in making a speech, the putting forward of the question

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narration Cultural  

1. The recounting of an event or series of events; the act of telling a story.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonnarration
  noun
• narrational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• narrations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of narration

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin narrātiōn-, stem of narrātiō “narrative, story”; equivalent to narrate + -ion

Explanation

Narration is the act of telling a story, usually in some kind of chronological order. Making up a scary ghost story and relating it around a camp fire is an act of narration. Narration generally means any kind of explaining or telling of something. It is usually used in reference to storytelling. If you've ever watched a television show where one character's voice talks directly to the audience, then you've heard narration. You will often find narration happening in songs where the singer is telling the story of how something happened — like the day he lost his guitar, his truck, his wife, and started singing the blues.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

narration narrations

The wall text for each piece, which also includes a QR code for audio narration, is composed by RM in both languages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

In 2023, he partnered with Los Angeles County Museum of Modern Art to provide guided audio narration for “The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art”.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The title track balances ringing classic rock chords mixed with Morello’s trademark Bomb Squad-esque riffs against a half-spoken, half-chanted narration and a white-hot guitar solo.

From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026

Saramago elevates the quest of his menial protagonist through lofty narration, which merges with Senhor José’s own reflections in the journal he begins to keep.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

There’s the narration, where you set out the points at issue, and the proof, where you make the arguments for your case.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

The chapters alternate between Aubrey’s and Lindsey’s narrations and their voices are so similar that it is easy to mix them up; also, the androgynous character names raise the possibility of gender confusion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Mission San Juan Capistrano was mostly empty as I walked in with a map and a handheld speaker that played short, recorded narrations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Wiking’s narrations are as reassuring and charming as the subjects he explores, making him the perfect ambassador for the much-touted Danish knack for well-being.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022

That year she was also contacted by an entrepreneur who was working on a start-up called Audm, which offered audio narrations of long-form magazine articles.

From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2022

He loves Joan Rivers and never misses her annual red-carpet narrations leading up to the Academy Awards telecasts.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Related Words

• anecdote
• narrative
• tale
• voice-over