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journal

noun
jour·​nal | \ ˈjər-nᵊl How to pronounce journal (audio) \

Definition of journal

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a daily newspaper —usually used in titles The Wall Street Journal
b : a periodical dealing especially with matters of current interest an academic journal —often used in titles The Journal of the American Medical Association
2a : a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use : diary
b : a record of current transactions especially : a book of original entry in double-entry bookkeeping
c : an account of day-to-day events
d : a record of transactions kept by a deliberative or legislative body
e : log sense 3
f : log sense 4
3 : the part of a rotating shaft, axle, roll, or spindle that turns in a bearing

journal

verb
journaled; journaling; journals

Definition of journal (Entry 2 of 2)

: to keep a personal journal : to enter or record daily thoughts, experiences, etc., in a journal As a kid, I journaled about everything from boys to bad haircuts. — Redbook The principal at the school says since students began journaling last year, poor behavior reports have dropped 40 percent.— Stephanie Stahl The students engaged in several process discussions to reflect on their service-learning projects, and they journaled their reactions. — Roeper Review
Other Words from journal Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about journal

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Other Words from journal

Verb

journaler noun, plural journalers
You don't have to be a writer to be a journaler, but journal keeping will make you a writer anyway. — Robert Moss
journaling \ ˈjər-​nᵊl-​iŋ How to pronounce journaling (audio) \ noun
Change your attitude about being awake at night. Savor this time alone for journaling or personal reflection. — Self Healing First on the agenda for this crew: a process dieticians call journaling, which involves jotting down every single thing eaten for several days… — Family Circle

Examples of journal in a Sentence

Noun

 I've been keeping a journal for several years. She records her dreams in a journal.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

 The skull, probably a male’s, is from a species called Australopithecus anamensis, as Haile-Selassie and his colleagues report in a pair of papers published Wednesday in the journal Nature. — Ben Guarino, Anchorage Daily News, "This newfound 3.8-million-year-old skull called ‘iconic’ in human evolution," 29 Aug. 2019 It was described Wednesday in the journal Nature by a team led by paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. — Malcolm Ritter, Los Angeles Times, "3.8-million-year-old fossil reveals face of Lucy’s ancestors," 28 Aug. 2019 It was described Wednesday in the journal Nature by Yohannes Haile-Selassie of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and co-authors. — NBC News, "New fossil reveals face of 'Lucy' ancestor who lived almost 4 million years ago," 28 Aug. 2019 Instead, the planet is more like our moon or Mercury, with little or no atmosphere, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Like Mercury, a nearby 'lava world' is probably lacking an atmosphere," 19 Aug. 2019 It was later published by the science journal Nature. — Daily Pilot, "Kary Mullis, a Newport resident and quirky Nobel laureate whose DNA discovery changed the science world, dies," 14 Aug. 2019 Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Universidad de Zaragova in Spain reported their results Monday in the journal Nature. — Mark Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'Seems like dark magic': Camera that can see around corners created by UW scientists," 5 Aug. 2019 The development, which the company made public in a research paper in the journal Nature on Wednesday, brings DeepMind's health unit closer to being able to market a product that would push A.I.-enabled alerts to doctors and nurses. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, "DeepMind’s Latest A.I. Predicts Kidney Injuries 48 Hours in Advance," 31 July 2019 Hundreds of astronomers from around the world signed a letter published in the journal Nature that opposes the arrests of protesters and the ways the project has been pushed ahead. — Meghan Miner Murray, New York Times, "Why would Native Hawaiians object to a telescope?," 22 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'journal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of journal

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Verb

1803, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for journal

Noun

Middle English, service book containing the day hours, from Anglo-French jurnal, from jurnal, adjective, daily, from Latin diurnalis, from diurnus of the day, from dies day — more at deity

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More Definitions for journal

journal

noun

Financial Definition of journal

What It Is

In the finance world, journal is short for journal entry. It is also short for The Wall Street Journal.

How It Works

Journal entries are records of individual financial transactions in a company's accounting system. Due to the standards of double-entry bookkeeping, journal entries typically involve a debit to one or more accounts and a credit to one or more accounts in the same amount. For example, the journal entry for the purchase of a $20,000 fleet vehicle might reflect a $20,000 increase in assets and a corresponding $20,000 decrease in cash.

Why It Matters

Journal entries are the heart and soul of accounting. Accountants must know how to make them correctly so that a company's financial transactions are recorded accurately and in turn convey correct information to shareholders, analysts and other stakeholders. When the books don't balance or there is an error in the numbers, accountants often go back to the journal entries to find out what went wrong. In this way, journal entries are a sort of diary for companies.

Source: Investing Answers

journal

noun
How to pronounce journal (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of journal

: a book in which you write down your personal experiences and thoughts
: a newspaper
: a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people

See the full definition for journal in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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