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

At the volume’s core stands a series of lectures Mr. Fumaroli delivered at the Collège de France over the course of four decades, complemented by journal articles and book chapters, and ably translated by Lara Vergnaud. — Laura Auricchio, WSJ, "‘The Republic of Letters’ Review: A Network of Open Minds," 25 Dec. 2018 The impact factor is based on the average number of times that a journal’s articles are cited over the past two years. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Complex networks study ranks the most influential films of all time," 3 Dec. 2018 These are described in a paper published in the journal Current Biology in 2016. — Rachel Becker, The Verge, "That adorable baby bear clip captures the dark side of wildlife videos," 6 Nov. 2018 Evidence of such payments came from conflict-of-interest statements in journal articles that those authors published near the time of their advisory role. — Charles Piller, Science | AAAS, "Hidden conflicts? Pharma payments to FDA advisers after drug approvals spark ethical concerns," 5 July 2018 As a thorough Migration Policy journal article from last year laid out, the reality is a bit more complicated. — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Draconian Immigration Policies Highlight Obama’s Missteps," 20 June 2018 All of that, along with several journal articles on the piece, boosted its profile, pushing its price deep into the six-figure range. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "The Odyssey of the World’s Largest Freshwater Pearl," 12 June 2018 Citing data initially published by the science journal Nature, 24/7 Wall St. said Arizona’s middle of nowhere is 11 hours and 32 minutes from the nearest town. — Scott Craven, azcentral, "Think you've been to the middle of nowhere in Arizona? Not even close," 17 May 2018 Research published in the journal Motivation and Emotion found that acts of kindness can make socially anxious people less so. — Samantha Boardman, Marie Claire, "I Hate Social Situations—Help!," 19 Mar. 2019

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

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Last Updated

6 Apr 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