document

American  

[dok-yuh-muhnt, dok-yuh-ment] / ˈdɒk jə mənt, ˈdɒk jəˌmɛnt /

noun

• documents
  plural

1. a written or printed paper furnishing information or evidence, as a passport, deed, bill of sale, or bill of lading; a legal or official paper.

   You'll need documents from your employers and your bank to prepare your income tax return.

2. any written item, as a book, article, or letter, especially of a factual or informative nature.

   The leaked document proves that the management team knew about the safety issues before the product launch.

3. Digital Technology. a computer data file, especially one with formatted text.

   Luckily, I saved my document right before the power went out.

4. Archaic. evidence; proof.

---

verb (used with object)

• documents,
  present (3rd person singular)
• documented,
  past participle,  past
• documenting
  present participle

1. to furnish with documents.

2. to furnish with references, citations, etc., in support of statements made.

   a carefully documented biography.

   Synonyms:

   validate, substantiate, verify, corroborate

3. to support by documentary evidence.

   to document a case.

4. Nautical. to provide (a vessel) with a certificate giving particulars concerning nationality, ownership, tonnage, dimensions, etc.

5. Obsolete. to instruct.

document British  

noun

1. a piece of paper, booklet, etc, providing information, esp of an official or legal nature

2. a piece of text or text and graphics stored in a computer as a file for manipulation by document processing software

3. archaic evidence; proof

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verb

1. to record or report in detail, as in the press, on television, etc

   the trial was well documented by the media

2. to support (statements in a book) with citations, references, etc

3. to support (a claim, etc) with evidence or proof

4. to furnish (a vessel) with official documents specifying its ownership, registration, weight, dimensions, and function

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• documenter
  noun
• redocument
  verb (used with object)
• documentable
  adjective
• nondocumented
  adjective
• well-documented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• documents
  plural

Participles

• documenting
  present
• documented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• document
  simple
• documents
  simple
• have documented
  perfect
• has documented
  perfect
• am documenting
  progressive
• are documenting
  progressive
• is documenting
  progressive
• have been documenting
  perfect progressive
• has been documenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• documented
  simple
• had documented
  perfect
• was documenting
  progressive
• were documenting
  progressive
• had been documenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will document
  simple
• will have documented
  perfect
• will be documenting
  progressive
• will have been documenting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of document

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin documentum “example (as precedent, warning, etc.),” from doc(ēre) “to teach” + -u- (variant of -i- -i- before labials) + -mentum -ment

Explanation

A document is a piece of paper that contains official information. Don't you wish you had a document saying that the bank owed you $5 million? Document comes from the Latin verb meaning "to teach," so a document instructs you with the information it contains. Legal documents such as contracts contain instructions on how the people signing it will act. Passports, driver’s licenses and birth certificates are all official documents. As a verb, document means "to record in detail," or "offer supporting evidence for." If you call a company to complain about something, make sure to document your phone calls by noting the date you called, who you spoke to and what was said.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

document documents documented documenting

Inheriting a “low-price gene” from poverty, as Hongfu said in a document that detailed the company’s history, they ignored the middle-class customers whom Starbucks and Chinese brands chased in Shanghai.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The former is specific to life-sustaining decisions, while the latter is a more far-reaching document overseeing a range of decisions like appointing a healthcare agent and deciding on hospital choices or even nursing homes.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

The 50-person figure would be more appropriate for those who received a particular document, and the universe of people who actually opened or downloaded it would be even smaller — perhaps 10 or fewer.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

One briefing document, dated 10 September 1998, reported Bin Laden's preferred location for a strike was within the US, with Washington a prime target.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Mr. McDowell turned a page of the document.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

As Ms. Bowman documents, reality hasn’t borne this out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Both companies have filed confidential IPO documents with US regulators and are targeting public listings at valuations approaching $1 trillion.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

Keep original documents, certificates of coverage, premium records, small print relating to your benefits, and reference numbers of all communications/complaints.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

The inquiry released thousands of documents which shed new light on what was going on inside the hospital.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Ellsberg handed Sheehan a key to Spencer’s apartment, saying he could stay and read, but must not remove any documents.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Future studies will need to follow larger groups of patients over time while combining measurements of stool oxalate, carefully documented dietary intake, molecular profiling and microbiome analyses.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

The golf-mad president -- whose relaxed relationship with the game's rules was documented by sports journalist Rick Reilly in the 2019 book "Commander in Cheat" -- may even award the trophy on Sunday.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

As has been well documented by the International Association of Firefighters, on the day of the attack, scores of firefighters died because they did not hear the order to evacuate the towers.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

This pattern has been well documented among Holocaust survivors, many of whom believed that silence would allow their children to grow up “normally.”

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

In her book Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children, Ann Hulbert documented how parenting experts contradict one another and even themselves.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Published by the editors of Life magazine, the volume included stunning photos and heartfelt essays documenting the terrorist attack and its aftermath.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Carlos Gauna, who has been documenting sharks for roughly a decade, regularly posts such videos to his YouTube channel, TheMalibuArtist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

She launched herself into the mainstream in the 1960s with an expose of New York City's Playboy Club, documenting the harsh conditions she faced working undercover as a Playboy Bunny.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

A psychiatrist, psychologist or another qualified mental-health provider can evaluate him and create medical records documenting his diagnosis, history, treatment and limitations.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Understanding the Pittman case and documenting the other demonstrably false things Myers had asserted would strengthen our evidence.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• archive
• certificate
• diary
• evidence
• form
• paper
• record
• report
• script
• testimony