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document

noun · verb

Simple meaning

An official paper, writing, or record that provides information

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dahkyuhment

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdɑkjəmɛnt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An original or official paper used as the basis, proof, or support of anything else, including any writing, book, or other instrument conveying information pertinent to such proof or support.

  2. Writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)

  3. Any material substance on which the information is represented by writing.

  4. computingcomputer science

    A computer file that contains text (and possibly formatting instructions) using seven-bit ASCII characters

verb

  1. To furnish with documents or papers necessary to establish facts or give information.

  2. Record in detail

    “The parents documented every step of their child's development.”

  3. To record in documents.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: An original or official paper used as the basis, proof, or support of anything else, including any writing, book, or other instrument conveying information pertinent to such proof or support.

Used this way, document is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Official and authoritative
Usage feel
Formal and precise

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use document

  • “The parents documented every step of their child's development.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Original / writing

legal document

Computer

document window

Other combinations

source documentwritten documentnew documentoriginal documentword documenthtml document

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • documentedadjectiveInflected form

    Furnished with or supported by documents.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • commercial documentnounCompound term

    A document of or relating to commerce.

  • written documentnounCompound term

    Writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature).

  • historical documentnounCompound term

    Writing having historical value (as opposed to fiction or myth etc.).

  • legal documentnounCompound term

    A document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right.

  • official documentnounCompound term

    A document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: original or official paper used as the basis

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.