journal

noun

jour·nal | \ ˈjər-nᵊl

Definition of journal

1a : a daily newspaper —usually used in titles The Wall Street Journal

b : a periodical dealing especially with matters of current interest an academic journal —often used in titles The Journal of the American Medical Association

2a : a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use : diary

b : a record of current transactions especially : a book of original entry in double-entry bookkeeping

c : an account of day-to-day events

d : a record of transactions kept by a deliberative or legislative body

e : log sense 3

f : log sense 4

3 : the part of a rotating shaft, axle, roll, or spindle that turns in a bearing

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Examples of journal in a Sentence

I've been keeping a journal for several years. She records her dreams in a journal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Brain These images are from a 2013 study in the journal Brain, which assessed 85 brains donated from former athletes, veterans, and people with a history of brain injury. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "What a lifetime of playing football can do to the human brain," 4 Feb. 2019 Taken together, the evidence suggests breast-feeding has a small but durable impact on children’s intelligence, according to a 2017 commentary in the journal Pediatrics. — Sue Shellenbarger, WSJ, "The Downside of Carrying the Most Weight at Work," 29 Jan. 2019 Published in October in the journal Forensic Science International, the work could one day lead to catching the culprit, and could help solve future heavy-metal poisonings. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Study brings us one step closer to solving 1994 thallium poisoning case," 25 Dec. 2018 The study, published today in the journal JAMA Network Open, didn’t measure the risks from exposures directly — only the materials the participants peed out. — Rachel Becker, The Verge, "Is vaping better than smoking? Scientists studied pee to find out," 14 Dec. 2018 The full line contains a hoodie, long-sleeve shirts, cups, a journal, and even baby onesies. — Marina Liao, Marie Claire, "Michelle Obama Releases a Merch Line in Honor of Her Book 'Becoming'," 14 Nov. 2018 Those studies had collectively been cited by other researchers 3,700 times, been published in over 25 journals and eight books, and spanned 20 years of research, van der Zee noted. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Big nutrition research scandal sees 6 more retractions, purging popular diet tips," 20 Sep. 2018 According to a study published in the journal Science, building wind and solar farms in the Sahara desert can increase rainfall and make more plants grow. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "How Solar Panels in the Sahara Could Make It Rain More," 7 Sep. 2018 Each group publishes a research journal and both will hold conventions in August. — Tom Mashberg, New York Times, "Do You Like ‘Dogs Playing Poker’? Science Would Like to Know Why," 8 July 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near journal

Statistics for journal

Last Updated

9 Feb 2019

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Time Traveler for journal

The first known use of journal was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for journal

journal

noun

Financial Definition of journal

What It Is

In the finance world, journal is short for journal entry. It is also short for The Wall Street Journal.

How It Works

Journal entries are records of individual financial transactions in a company's accounting system. Due to the standards of double-entry bookkeeping, journal entries typically involve a debit to one or more accounts and a credit to one or more accounts in the same amount. For example, the journal entry for the purchase of a $20,000 fleet vehicle might reflect a $20,000 increase in assets and a corresponding $20,000 decrease in cash.

Why It Matters

Journal entries are the heart and soul of accounting. Accountants must know how to make them correctly so that a company's financial transactions are recorded accurately and in turn convey correct information to shareholders, analysts and other stakeholders. When the books don't balance or there is an error in the numbers, accountants often go back to the journal entries to find out what went wrong. In this way, journal entries are a sort of diary for companies.

Source: Investing Answers

journal

noun