magazine

noun

mag·​a·​zine ˈma-gə-ˌzēn 

ˌma-gə-ˈzēn

1

a

: a print periodical containing miscellaneous pieces (such as articles, stories, poems) and often illustrated

a fashion magazine

a gardening magazine

also : such a periodical published online

b

: a similar section of a newspaper usually appearing on Sunday

c

: a radio or television program presenting usually several short segments on a variety of topics

2

: a place where goods or supplies are stored : warehouse

3

: a room in which powder and other explosives are kept in a fort or a ship

4

: the contents of a magazine: such as

a

: an accumulation of munitions (see munition sense 2) of war

b

: a stock of provisions (see provision entry 1 sense 2) or goods

5

: a supply chamber: such as

a

: a holder in or on a gun for cartridges (see cartridge sense 1) to be fed into the gun chamber

b

: a lightproof chamber for films or plates on a camera or for film on a motion-picture projector

Synonyms

• depository
• depot
• repository
• storage
• storehouse
• warehouse

Examples of magazine in a Sentence

She subscribes to several gardening magazines.

the village kept a magazine where people left common supplies

Recent Examples on the Web

The Chicago Sun-Times summer reading list was licensed from King Features, owned by magazine conglomerate Hearst. —Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 23 May 2025

Highlights this week include four of the greatest R&B divas to ever do it on one stage at Barclays Center, Rena Butler’s take on Aesop’s classic fable with Parsons Dance at The Joyce and a must-see immersive art exhibit in Chelsea celebrating Rolling Stone magazine. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025

Ian previously worked in the magazine’s accessory and ready-to-wear departments. —Ian Malone, Vogue, 21 May 2025

This story first appeared in a May stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. —Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Old Occitan, from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan storehouse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing magazine

• little magazine

Rhymes for magazine

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Kids Definition

magazine

noun

mag·​a·​zine ˈmag-ə-ˌzēn 

ˌmag-ə-ˈzēn

1

: a storehouse or warehouse especially for military supplies

2

: a place for keeping explosives in a fort or ship

3

: a publication containing different pieces (as stories, articles, or poems) and issued at regular intervals (as weekly or monthly)

4

: a supply chamber: as

a

: a container in a gun for holding cartridges

b

: a container for film on a camera or motion-picture projector

Etymology

from early French magazine "storehouse, warehouse," derived from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan "storehouse, granary, cellar"

Word Origin

Magazine originally meant "storehouse" or "granary" or "cellar." It came into an early French dialect and then English from the Arabic word makhzan (plural makhāzin). Makhzan had all these meanings. In military and naval use magazine came to mean a storage place for gunpowder or weapons or a place on a warship where the powder was kept. Later it came to mean either a place where valuable things were stored or the stored things themselves. A new sense of magazine appeared in 1731 with the first issue of a monthly publication called The Gentleman's Magazine, a collection or storehouse of short stories and articles about things of interest to the general reader. This use of magazine caught on and was used for similar publications.