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

When all is said and done, if Arsenal win the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s iPad notes for May 2026 could be deserving of a memoir. —Art De Roché, New York Times, 13 May 2026

Ahead of her new memoir, Hayden Panettiere is discussing giving up custody of her daughter. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 May 2026

Ayelet Waldman is the author of the best-selling memoir Bad Mother and of the novels Daughter’s Keeper and Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. —The Week Us, TheWeek, 13 May 2026

In February 2025, her 1948 memoir Fearless and Free was finally translated from French to English. —Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 12 May 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