DOCUMENT

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does document mean? 

• DOCUMENT (noun)
  The noun DOCUMENT has 4 senses:

1. writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature)

2. anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks

3. a written account of ownership or obligation

4. (computer science) a computer file that contains text (and possibly formatting instructions) using seven-bit ASCII characters

  Familiarity information: DOCUMENT used as a noun is uncommon.

• DOCUMENT (verb)
  The verb DOCUMENT has 2 senses:

1. record in detail

2. support or supply with references

  Familiarity information: DOCUMENT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DOCUMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

document; papers; written document

Hypernyms ("document" is a kind of...):

piece of writing; writing; written material (the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect))

Meronyms (parts of "document"):

preamble (a preliminary introduction to a statute or constitution (usually explaining its purpose))

article; clause (a separate section of a legal document (as a statute or contract or will))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "document"):

ballot (a document listing the alternatives that is used in voting)

report; study; written report (a written document describing the findings of some individual or group)

voucher (a document that serves as evidence of some expenditure)

specification ((patent law) a document drawn up by the applicant for a patent of invention that provides an explicit and detailed description of the nature and use of an invention)

source (a document (or organization) from which information is obtained)

declaration; resolution; resolve (a formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote)

resignation (a formal document giving notice of your intention to resign)

platform; political platform; political program; program (a document stating the aims and principles of a political party)

patent; patent of invention (a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention)

papyrus (a document written on papyrus)

form (a printed document with spaces in which to write)

brevet (a document entitling a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily (but without higher pay))

capitulation (a document containing the terms of surrender)

certificate; certification; credential; credentials (a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts)

charter (a document incorporating an institution and specifying its rights; includes the articles of incorporation and the certificate of incorporation)

commercial document; commercial instrument (a document of or relating to commerce)

confession (a written document acknowledging an offense and signed by the guilty party)

copyright; right of first publication (a document granting exclusive right to publish and sell literary or musical or artistic work)

enclosure; inclosure (something (usually a supporting document) that is enclosed in an envelope with a covering letter)

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

Derivation:

document (support or supply with references)

documental; documentary (relating to or consisting of or derived from documents)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("document" is a kind of...):

representation (a creation that is a visual or tangible rendering of someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "document"):

letter; missive (a written message addressed to a person or organization)

Derivation:

documental; documentary (relating to or consisting of or derived from documents)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A written account of ownership or obligation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("document" is a kind of...):

communication (something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "document"):

letter of credit (a document issued by a bank that guarantees the payment of a customer's draft; substitutes the bank's credit for the customer's credit)

certificate of indebtedness; debt instrument; obligation (a written promise to repay a debt)

quittance (a document or receipt certifying release from an obligation or debt)

record (a document that can serve as legal evidence of a transaction)

Derivation:

documentary (relating to or consisting of or derived from documents)

Sense 4

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

document; text file

Hypernyms ("document" is a kind of...):

computer file ((computer science) a file maintained in computer-readable form)

Domain category:

computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "document"):

web page; webpage (a document connected to the World Wide Web and viewable by anyone connected to the internet who has a web browser)

ASCII text file (a text file that contains only ASCII characters without special formatting)

Derivation:

documentary (relating to or consisting of or derived from documents)

• DOCUMENT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they document    ... he / she / it documents   
Past simple: documented   
Past participle: documented   
-ing form: documenting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Record in detail

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The parents documented every step of their child's development

Hypernyms (to "document" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

documentary (a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event)

documentation (program listings or technical manuals describing the operation and use of programs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Support or supply with references

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Can you document your claims?

Hypernyms (to "document" is one way to...):

affirm; confirm; corroborate; substantiate; support; sustain (establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "document"):

source (specify the origin of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

document (writing that provides information (especially information of an official nature))

documentation (documentary validation)

documentation (confirmation that some fact or statement is true through the use of documentary evidence)

 Context examples 

The researchers documented their device working in temperatures that approached 630 degrees Fahrenheit (332 degrees Celsius).

(Harnessing Heat to Power Computers, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Five skulls with holes from trepanation have been documented so far and are currently being analysed.

(Hair was dyed for first time as part of funeral rituals, University of Granada)

Allen says the document "scrambles the names of the signers" and "they are no longer grouped by state."

(Parchment Copy of Declaration of Independence Found in Small British Town, VOA)

The team is providing critical information needed to document this effect and accurately predict where and how fast glaciers will give way.

(The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland, NASA)

This is a great time to travel, sign a contract, work on writing a manuscript, report, speech, or other document, or think of topics for your podcast series.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Beautifully ornamented tusks were documented as far away as the Middle East and India.

(Extinction of Icelandic walrus coincides with Norse settlement, National Science Foundation)

The nitrogen values were found to ​​remain constant throughout the period, while the main difference in the increase of carbon was documented for the most recent period.

(Analysis of the Palaeolithic diet finds that, in the prehistoric age, for thousands of years there were no social divisions in food consumption, University of Granada)

Decades of Mars observations document a pattern of multiple regional dust storms arising during the northern spring and summer.

(Dust Storms Linked to Gas Escape from Mars Atmosphere, NASA)

The regions are also thought to be remarkably stable, yet scientists have documented an anomaly in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre ecosystem that has puzzled oceanographers.

(North Pacific Ocean fertilized by iron in Asian dust, National Science Foundation)

The impacts of sea warming are well-documented.

(Pacific island fish migrating to cooler seas, SciDev.Net)