article

1 of 2

noun

ar·ti·cle ˈär-ti-kəl

plural articles

Synonyms of article next

: a distinct often numbered section of a writing

an article of the constitution

: a separate clause

: a stipulation in a document (such as a contract or a creed)

articles of indenture

: a nonfictional prose composition usually forming an independent part of a publication (such as a magazine)

wrote an article for the newspaper

: a document setting forth the terms of an agreement

—usually plural

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the certificate of filing of the articles of merger and plan of merger …—

Ruby Anne M. Rubioarticles of consolidationarticles of incorporation

: an item of business : matter

grammar : any of a small set of words or affixes (such as a, an, and the) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application

: a member of a class of things

especially : an item of goods

articles of value

: a thing or person of a particular and distinctive kind or class

the genuine article

article

2 of 2

verb

articled; articling ˈär-ti-k(ə-)liŋ

transitive verb

: to bind by articles (as of apprenticeship) (see article entry 1 sense 1c)

He went to Durham Grammar School, was articled to a solicitor in Newcastle at seventeen, moved to another firm in London at twenty …—

T. J. Binyon

Example Sentences

Noun I just read an interesting article on the city's early history. He has published numerous articles in scholarly journals. Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution. The company amended its articles of incorporation. Verb He articled at the famous law firm many years ago.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Click here to read more about the event and see the list of winners in this article by Union-Tribune music critic George Varga. —

Luis Cruz, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2023 Stephen Buchmann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. —

Stephen Buchmann, The Conversation, 17 May 2023 This article contains spoilers from the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 4 finale. —

Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 17 May 2023 Also making headlines in the lead up to the premiere is Maïwenn, who admitted to spitting in the face of an investigative journalist who wrote an article that accused her ex-husband Luc Besson of rape. —

Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 16 May 2023 The Irish Times published an opinion article generated by A.I. software and submitted by someone calling themselves Adriana Acosta-Cortez, according to a story in tech publication The Register. —

Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 16 May 2023 This article was updated by Renee Freemon Mulvihill, who consulted expert Bob Mann, senior director of technical and regulatory affairs with the National Association of Landscape Professionals. —

Samantha Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 May 2023 From there, a registered dietitian on our Medical Expert Board reviews each article for scientific accuracy. —

Sarah Anzlovar, Ms, Verywell Health, 15 May 2023 Corrine Foxx wrote under the image of an article announcing the game show. —

Gina Martinez, CBS News, 15 May 2023

Verb

Only articles with more than 25,000 engagements were considered; 80 made up the final list. —

NBC News, 29 Dec. 2019 Laurel Austin showed the police online articles about chlorine dioxide, including one from the Autism Research Institute, one of the first and most vocal organizations to push the discredited theory that vaccines cause autism. —

NBC News, 14 June 2019 The redirect links were operated by a link-shortening service called Rebrandly and have since been taken down, but USA Really articles corresponding to the archived links are readily accessible. —

Russell Brandom, The Verge, 24 Sep. 2018 Correction: June 4, 2018 An earlier version of this articled misidentified the president whom Michael Jordan skipped out on meeting. —

Michael D. Shear, New York Times, 4 June 2018 Every week science journalists get a bunch of emails from various Respectable Scientific Journals telling us, in advance, what articles those journals are going to publish. —

Adam Rogers, WIRED, 16 May 2018 This articled was updated with a report from Portland, Ore. —

Times Staff, latimes.com, 21 Jan. 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'article.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, "item or statement (in a set of rules, doctrines, etc.), clause in a statute or will, item or detail of concern," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin articulus "connecting point of two bones, joint, part of a limb or digit between two joints, point of time, clause of a document, pronoun or pronominal adjective," from artus (genitive artūs) "joint, limb, part of the body" + -culus, diminutive suffix; Latin artus going back to Indo-European *h₂r̥-tú- "joining" (zero-grade derivative of the verbal base *h₂er- "fit, join"), whence also Greek artýs "order, arrangement" (recorded only by the grammarian Hesychius; from which Greek artýein "to arrange, prepare"), Armenian ard (genitive ardu) "order," Sanskrit ṛtúḥ "fixed time, order, rule," Avestan ratu- "period of time" — more at arm entry 3

Note: As a grammatical term Latin articulus was a translation of Greek árthron "connecting point, joint," which in the Stoic grammatical tradition designated both the pronoun (árthron hōrísmenon "definite article") and the article (árthron aóriston/aorístōdes "indefinite article," though Greek possessed only what is now considered a definite article in traditional grammar). In the later work of the grammarian Apollonius Dyscolus (2nd century a.d.) the pronoun was given a distinct term (antōnymía). The Roman grammarian quintilian clearly understood articulus to mean "article" in the current sense in stating that "our speech [i.e., Latin, in contrast with Greek] has no need of articles" ("noster sermo articulos non desiderat").

Verb

derivative of article entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1693, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of article was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century