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 represent 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
Regardless of distinctions between unifying the people and leading a nation, the imperial role is a stressful one.
Before taking the throne, Naruhito penned a memoir about his longest time overseas.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 8 June 2025
As the title of his new memoir — Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success — suggests, Jeff Hiller, 49, did not take the express bus to stardom.
—Lisa Tozzi, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2025
The rest of his meaningful memoir develops from there.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2025
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry recalled the story of Lilibet’s birth at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California in 2021.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for memoir
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Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 8 June 2025
As the title of his new memoir — Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success — suggests, Jeff Hiller, 49, did not take the express bus to stardom.
—Lisa Tozzi, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2025
The rest of his meaningful memoir develops from there.
—Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2025
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry recalled the story of Lilibet’s birth at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California in 2021.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 5 June 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 11 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
memoir
noun
mem·oir
ˈmem-ˌwär 
-ˌwȯ(ə)r
1
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