memoir

CEFRB2

/ˈmɛmˌwɑː/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A book about a person's own experiences and memories.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A biography; a book describing the experiences of a subject from personal knowledge of the subject or from sources with personal knowledge of the subject.

Examples

  • She penned a tell-all memoir of her affair with the president.

  • The memoir breathes the deepest respect for his father.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmemˌwɐː/
  • /ˈmɛmˌɔɪəɹ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Any form of narrative describing the personal experiences of a writer.

  2. An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author.

More examples

In context

  • James wrote a memoir of his grandmother shortly after she passed away.

  • When I retire, I'm going to write my memoirs.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

A famous author wrote a book about her own life experiences, which is called a blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from French mémoire, from Middle French memoire, from Old French memoire, from Latin memoria. Doublet of memoria and memory.