publication
Americannoun
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publications
plural
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the act of publishing a book, periodical, map, piece of music, engraving, or the like.
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the act of bringing before the public; announcement.
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the state or fact of being published.
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something that is published, especially a periodical.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of publication
1350–1400; Middle English publicacioun < Latin pūblicātiōn- (stem of pūblicātiō ) a making public, confiscation, equivalent to pūblicāt ( us ) (past participle of pūblicāre to make public ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A publication is something made to communicate with the public. Publications are usually printed on paper (like magazines and books), but online publications are delivered via the Internet. The noun publication comes from the Latin word publicare, meaning “make public.” Publication usually means something is written and made available publicly, but a company or government can submit publications of things like earnings or unemployment indexes that are communicated differently. If you are an aspiring author, publication of your work is, most likely, the Holy Grail you seek.
Vocabulary lists containing publication
National Librarian Day
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Reading: Informational - Middle School
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Media Literacy - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
While the Social Security Administration has already processed most adjustments and issued many retroactive payments, some retirees are still waiting because of administrative backlogs and complex eligibility cases, according to the publication Government Executive.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The investigation sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the cold case was revived with the publication in 2019 of Davis's memoirs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Despite repeated attempts to contact Jared Leto before publication of the original story, he did not respond to the allegations put to him by the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Since publication, I’ve heard from dozens of SPV investors about the surprises they’ve encountered after buying their stakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Isaac’s words were apparently being prepared for publication when Campbell died in 1876.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Like many publishers, traffic for the stable of publications he oversees has declined as AI search results have become ubiquitous.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
The bureaucratic, multistep process for bringing new shots to market used to be the uncontroversial stuff of trade publications and medical journals, not national news.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
They added: "Allegations of plagiarism regarding Professor Arday's thesis and some of his journal publications have been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University and the journals in question."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Takhar and Yash Shah, a doctoral student in FSHN, reported their results in two new publications examining the physical changes that occur when French fries are cooked with microwave energy.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
The e-mailed stories ranged from suspensions and expulsions for “antisocial behavior” to censorship of student publications to new restrictions on computing, Web browsing, and especially gaming.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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.
