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

---

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

The fossils therefore help document the anatomical transition from pancrustacean ancestors to hexapod insects.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

The police watchdog added: "We consider Mr Guildford may have failed to ensure due diligence and the highest level of scrutiny over such an influential document."

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

That document noted that “construction has been underway for ten months,” during much of which time some 250 people have been working “20 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

And it may be the most consequential assumption in the document.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Apparently, there’s a frequency that most adults can’t hear,” Mr. Jacobs explained, handing the document to Afnan, who began to examine it.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

It’s expected that official U.S. documents and communications will include the new name; it likely won’t be recognized by Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

However, Viviane Tathi, whose organisation documents cases of femicide in the country, told the BBC she was not sure that the bill would be passed at the session.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Two federal judges in New York approved the subpoena requests, which had been filed a day earlier, according to court documents reviewed by AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

Though the intercom button is intended for use in emergencies, inmates were using it “for pretty much any reason to get the deputies’ attention,” according to court documents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

The bag held things like money and respirator masks and paper maps and a first-aid kit and copies of their important documents.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

The fallout was largely documented on the cat haven’s Facebook page with posts of veterinary and haven staff working together to administer heart compressions on the large black cat lying on the medical table.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

When she died, Oregon claimed the house hadn’t been transferred properly and that Keller had never been properly documented as a caregiver child.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

But a number of studies have documented the dangers posed by balloons once they end up in nature, particularly for marine life and birds.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

We documented the ways in which the mobility of global capital had sped up over the past century as relocation and communication costs declined.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

I'd filed a lengthy brief that documented the insufficiency of the evidence and raised every legal deficiency in the trial that I could identify.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Fossils documenting the intermediate steps have also been extremely rare.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

Essentials for a successful claim include geostamped, time-stamped and annotated “before, during and after” repair photos documenting damage, work performed, and completion, it adds.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

She built a large community of followers who she wanted to help by documenting her own experience.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

They’ve read the research documenting how the outdoors, including urban green spaces, improves cognition, social connection and physical strength, while decreasing depression and anxiety in all ages, but especially seniors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

With Ruiz documenting the work with a digital camera, Haas silently plucked out dead insects, bits of leaf, and lengths of shicra, a kind of thick twine made from reeds.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

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