memoir

noun

mem·​oir ˈmem-ˌwär How to pronounce memoir (audio)
-ˌwȯr
1
: an official note or report : memorandum
2
a
: a narrative composed from personal experience
every memoir reminds us of the faraway and long ago, of loss and change, of persons and places beyond recallAbigail McCarthy
b
: autobiography
usually used in plural
His memoirs recall his student days at Harvard.
c
: biography
his memoir of his longtime friend
3
a
: an account of something noteworthy : report
the work described and discussed in this memoir represent a first-class investigationJ. A. Steers
b
memoirs plural : the record of the proceedings of a learned society
memoirist noun

Examples of memoir in a Sentence

a retired politician who is writing his memoirs He has written a memoir of his mother. a memoir of Hollywood in the 1930s
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.
Part memoir, part business playbook, and part hero’s journey, Potts’s story begins in the South Carolina Lowcountry, where a teenage fascination with the smell of fiberglass resin led to a lifelong passion for building boats. Forbes Books Press Release Official, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025 Her brand-new memoir, How to Lose Your Mother, just came out this month, and centers among other things her relationship with her mother, the novelist Erica Jong. Memoir Nation june 30, Literary Hub, 30 June 2025 According to Coles, a memoir by the designer from Letterform Archive is set to be published later this year. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 27 June 2025 His 2007 memoir, A Memoir of a Minor League Baseball All-Star, chronicled a journey of perseverance through war, injuries, and the grind of the minor leagues. Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for memoir

Word History

Etymology

Middle French memoire, from memoire memory, from Latin memoria

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of memoir was in 1571

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Memoir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memoir. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

memoir

noun
mem·​oir ˈmem-ˌwär How to pronounce memoir (audio)
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
a
: a story of a personal experience
b
: autobiography
usually used in plural
c
2

More from Merriam-Webster on memoir

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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