Definition of DOSSIER

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Gather together various documents relating to the affairs of a certain individual, sort them into separate folders, label the spine of each folder, and arrange the folders in a box. "Dossier," the French word for such a compendium of spine-labeled folders, was picked up by English speakers in the late 19th century. It comes from "dos," the French word for "back," which is in turn derived from "dorsum," Latin for back. Our word dorsal ("situated on the back"), as in the dorsal fin of a whale, comes from the same Latin source.

Examples of dossier in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Grassley cited the House Intelligence Committee's Republican report that stated the Penn Quarter Group worked with Fusion GPS and dossier author Christopher Steele in 2017. — Jeremy Herb, CNN, "Grassley defends Trump Jr. testimony about foreign contacts," 29 May 2018 The memo’s authors apparently intended to suggest that the dossier’s dramatic allegations had been debunked. — Matt Ford, New Republic, "Trump Just Shot Himself in the Foot," 2 Feb. 2018 Trump and congressional Republicans have charged that the research in the dossier, paid for by Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee, was used inappropriately to obtain the warrant on Page. — Mary Clare Jalonick, Anchorage Daily News, "DOJ gives Congress new classified documents on Russia probe," 24 June 2018 Trump and congressional Republicans have charged that the research in the dossier, paid for by Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, was used inappropriately to obtain the warrant on Page. — Mary Clare Jalonick, chicagotribune.com, "Justice Department gives Congress new classified documents on Russia probe," 23 June 2018 The Clinton campaign funded the Steele dossier, whose British author paid Russians to dish anti-Trump dirt. — David B. Rivkin Jr. And Elizabeth Price Foley, WSJ, "Mueller’s Fruit of the Poisonous Tree," 22 June 2018 The Steele dossier named Cohen as a point of contact with Russian intelligence in 2016, and while Cohen has denied the visit in question, one report claims that Robert Mueller has investigated and discredited his denial. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Has Michael Cohen Already Flipped on Donald Trump?," 30 Apr. 2018 Comey’s memos, which have been turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller, cover Trump’s distress at the allegations contained in the Steele dossier, one of which involved supposed encounters with Russian prostitutes in Moscow. — Alan Murray, Fortune, "Shire Pandemonium, Aluminum Glut, ZTE Fallout: CEO Daily for April 20, 2018," 20 Apr. 2018 What about the episode concerning a tape from the infamous dossier? — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, "How 'The Good Fight' became the most explicitly anti-Trump TV series," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dossier.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.