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 memoirs were more or less accurate about his public life.
—Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
His savings had run out, his father had stopped financially supporting his tuition, and in his final days on campus, he was suspended for bringing a woman to his dorm room, according to his memoir.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Panettiere first teased her memoir in 2024.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
For journalists Danielle Crittenden and David Frum, processing their grief meant telling Miranda’s story, in an essay and in a new memoir.
—Susan Berger, Washington Post, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for memoir
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Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
His savings had run out, his father had stopped financially supporting his tuition, and in his final days on campus, he was suspended for bringing a woman to his dorm room, according to his memoir.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
Panettiere first teased her memoir in 2024.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
For journalists Danielle Crittenden and David Frum, processing their grief meant telling Miranda’s story, in an essay and in a new memoir.
—Susan Berger, Washington Post, 6 May 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 8 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
memoir
noun
mem·oir
ˈmem-ˌwär 
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
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