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
However, the ongoing release of documents by the US government as well as the posthumous memoir of his accuser Virginia Giuffre ignited a firestorm of fresh scrutiny.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
This year spat out a slew of memoirs, memorabilia, and parties celebrating the decade—especially life in New York City—before the turn of the millennium.
—Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
Her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom, was published in 2022.
—Outside, 22 Dec. 2025
Her book of memoirs Two Tickets to Calamity will be going to publishers via her literary agent next month.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for memoir
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Kara Fox, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
This year spat out a slew of memoirs, memorabilia, and parties celebrating the decade—especially life in New York City—before the turn of the millennium.
—Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
Her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom, was published in 2022.
—Outside, 22 Dec. 2025
Her book of memoirs Two Tickets to Calamity will be going to publishers via her literary agent next month.
—Andy Hoglund, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for memoir
Cite this Entry
“Memoir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/memoir. Accessed 2 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
memoir
noun
mem·oir
ˈmem-ˌwär 
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
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