memoir

noun

mem·​oir ˈmem-ˌwär 

-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 recall …

—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

b

memoirs plural : the record of the proceedings of a learned society

memoirist

ˈmem-ˌwär-ist 

-ˌwȯr-

noun

Synonyms of memoir

• biography
• autobiography

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

Neither mother nor daughter could agree on how to fix Pioneer Girl, a fledgling memoir that wouldn’t sell. — Rosemary Counter, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026

The cottontail storm remained a secret, perhaps for obvious reasons, until many decades later, when the general’s memoir was published. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026

These celebrity memoirs take the art of telling all to the next level. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026

Rutte’s predecessor, Stoltenberg, has written in his memoir about chairing a 2018 summit that Trump nearly upended. — Lorne Cook, Fortune, 5 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French memoire, from memoire memory, from Latin memoria

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for memoir

• adar
• afar
• ajar
• alar
• alvar
• bazaar
• bizarre
• boxcar
• boyar
• bulbar
• cachar
• cigar

Kids Definition

memoir

noun

mem·​oir ˈmem-ˌwär 

-ˌwȯ(ə)r

1

a

: a story of a personal experience

b

: autobiography

—usually used in plural

c

: biography

2

: report entry 1 sense 2