chronicle

1 of 2

noun

chron·​i·​cle ˈkrä-ni-kəl How to pronounce chronicle (audio)
1
: a historical account of events arranged in order of time usually without analysis or interpretation
a chronicle of the Civil War
2
: narrative sense 1
a chronicle of the struggle against drug traffickers

chronicle

2 of 2

verb

chronicled; chronicling ˈkrä-ni-k(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce chronicle (audio)

transitive verb

: to present a record of in or as if in a chronicle
chronicle Victorian society
chronicle the doings of the rich and famous
chronicler noun

Examples of chronicle in a Sentence

Noun a chronicle of the American Civil War a chronicle of the President's years in office Verb The book chronicles the events that led to the American Civil War. She intends to chronicle the broad social changes that have occurred in this part of the country. a magazine that chronicles the lives of the rich and famous
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Death permeates life in an echo of Harjo’s films; Four Sheets to the Wind unfolds in the wake of a suicide, while Barking Water chronicles a terminally ill man’s final road trip. Judy Berman, Time, 23 Sep. 2025 And there’s some of this feeling in the letters and chronicles left by Spanish warriors. Greg Grandin september 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
The film, directed by Zhu Yiran, is China’s first ultra-high-definition 8K feature shot entirely in space and chronicles the six-month mission of astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu aboard the Chinese space station. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025 As recently chronicled, older songs are eligible to appear on the Hot 100 and genre-focused offshoot charts that also blend streaming, radio airplay and sales data if experiencing significant growth. Gary Trust, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chronicle

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cronycle, borrowed from Anglo-French cronike, cronicle (-le perhaps by assimilation to words with the suffix -icle, as article article entry 1), borrowed from Latin chronica "book of annals," borrowed from Greek () chroniká, (hai) chronikaí, from plural of chronikós "of time, temporal, in order by time" (with a noun such as biblía "books" or graphaí "writings" understood) — more at chronic

Verb

Middle English cronyclen, verbal derivative of cronycle chronicle entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chronicle was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chronicle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronicle. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

chronicle

1 of 2 noun
chron·​i·​cle ˈkrän-i-kəl How to pronounce chronicle (audio)
: an account of events in the order of their happening : history

chronicle

2 of 2 verb
chronicled; chronicling -k(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce chronicle (audio)
: to present a record of in or as if in a chronicle
chronicle the major events of last year
chronicler noun
Etymology

Noun

Middle English cronicle "chronicle," from early French chronique (same meaning), derived from Greek chronikos, "of time," from chronos "time" — related to anachronism, chronic, synchronous

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