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 represent 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

• bio
• biography
• life

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

April 27: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump VP hopeful, comes under fire for detailing her decision to shoot a family dog and including a false anecdote about meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in her memoir. —Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024

In October, Cher also announced her memoir’s book tour, exclusively with PEOPLE. —Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Al , but has spoken about keeping in contact with him, while promoting his memoir Sonny Boy to the BBC in 2024. —Kayla Caldwell, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

In her memoir, Gilot wrote of their relationship as being tumultuous. —Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French memoire, from memoire memory, from Latin memoria

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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