Library / English Dictionary

DOCUMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

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 2

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

document; papers; written document

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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"):

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)

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

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

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)

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

Derivation:

document (support or supply with references)

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

document; text file

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

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)

Sense 4

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Support or supply with references

Example:

Can you document your claims?

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Record in detail

Example:

The parents documented every step of their child's development

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

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)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Some of the patterns of gene sharing we see between the butterflies have also been documented in comparisons of the human and Neanderthal genomes, so there is another link to our own evolution.

(Butterflies are genetically wired to choose a mate that looks just like them, University of Cambridge)

The harmful effects of microplastics on the marine environment are widely documented.

(Microplastic pollution adds to oceans’ problems, scidev.net)

For more than a decade, satellite data have documented that the glaciers were thinning as the melt rates on their top surfaces increased.

(NASA Finds Asian Glaciers Slowed by Ice Loss, NASA)

Here it is; I would not burn it, because being even then very little satisfied with Mr Elliot, I was determined to preserve every document of former intimacy.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It was at once clear to me that it formed part of a very remarkable document.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Lucas quickly turned back the drugget, thrust the document into some hiding-place there, and covered it over.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Prior research documented that 4-month-old infants successfully abstract rules from speech sounds and tone sequences, but failed to abstract rules in the visual domain, such as from patterns of objects.

(Infants Are Able to Learn Abstract Rules Visually, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Documented history of previous myocardial infarction (MI), typically with objective evidence via positive biomarkers of myocardial necrosis.

(Old Myocardial Infarction, NCI Thesaurus)

The documents (e.g., forms, letters, reports) required for a particular activity.

(Paperwork, NCI Thesaurus)

A section within the study document pertaining to data collected from non-human clinical study subjects.

(Non-human Clinical Subject Data Section, NCI Thesaurus)