1
: an official note or report : memorandum
2
a
: a narrative composed from personal experience
Every memoir reminds us of the faraway and long ago, of loss and change, of persons and places beyond recall …—
Abigail McCarthy
Abigail McCarthy
b
: autobiography
—usually used in plural
His memoirs recall his student days at Harvard.
c
: biography
his memoir of his longtime friend
3
a
: an account of something noteworthy : report
The work described and discussed in this memoir represents a first-class investigation.—J. A. Steers
J. A. Steers
b
memoirs plural
: the record of the proceedings of a learned society
Examples of memoir in a Sentence
a retired politician who is writing his memoirs
He has written a memoir of his mother.
a memoir of Hollywood in the 1930s
Recent Examples on the Web
Local touches were everywhere, from an extensive collection of books ranging from South African chick-lit to memoirs of Nelson Mandela, Trevor Noah, and Siya Kolisi to a mini-bar stocked with gin, rum, and brandy made with Cape Fynbos plants.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
The announcement of Stratton's memoir also comes a little over a week before the release of Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day, which follows a fictional whistleblower (Josh O'Connor) who attempts to expose the truth about a complex cover-up of alien life on Earth.
—Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
One saw his entire family killed in a concentration camp and then wrote a memoir documenting his darkest moments.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Jill Biden’s new memoir, A View from the East Wing, discusses her time as first lady.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for memoir
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Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
The announcement of Stratton's memoir also comes a little over a week before the release of Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day, which follows a fictional whistleblower (Josh O'Connor) who attempts to expose the truth about a complex cover-up of alien life on Earth.
—Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
One saw his entire family killed in a concentration camp and then wrote a memoir documenting his darkest moments.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
Jill Biden’s new memoir, A View from the East Wing, discusses her time as first lady.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for memoir
Cite this Entry
“Memoir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memoir. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
memoir
noun
mem·oir
ˈmem-ˌwär 
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
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