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 recall …—
Abigail McCarthy
Abigail 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 represents a first-class investigation.—J. A. Steers
J. A. Steers
b
memoirs plural
: the record of the proceedings of a learned society
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
The Chronology of Water is an adaptation of author Lidia Yuknvavitch's 2011 memoir of the same name.
—Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
In her memoir, McCurdy revealed she had been pushed into acting by her mother at a young age.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 8 Jan. 2026
The most popular genres are mystery and crime, followed by history, biographies and memoirs, thrillers, fantasy, and more.
—Essence, 7 Jan. 2026
Her memoir writing on the independent artist’s life has driven me to purchase silk sheets and lust after writing sheds, while novels like The Man Who Saw Everything glitter with ambitious formal turns.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for memoir
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Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
In her memoir, McCurdy revealed she had been pushed into acting by her mother at a young age.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 8 Jan. 2026
The most popular genres are mystery and crime, followed by history, biographies and memoirs, thrillers, fantasy, and more.
—Essence, 7 Jan. 2026
Her memoir writing on the independent artist’s life has driven me to purchase silk sheets and lust after writing sheds, while novels like The Man Who Saw Everything glitter with ambitious formal turns.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for memoir
Cite this Entry
“Memoir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memoir. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
memoir
noun
mem·oir
ˈmem-ˌwär 
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
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