magazine

noun

mag·​a·​zine ˈma-gə-ˌzēn How to pronounce magazine (audio)
ˌma-gə-ˈzēn
1
a
: a print periodical containing miscellaneous pieces (such as articles, stories, poems) and often illustrated
a fashion magazine
a gardening magazine
also : such a periodical published online
b
: a similar section of a newspaper usually appearing on Sunday
c
: a radio or television program presenting usually several short segments on a variety of topics
2
: a place where goods or supplies are stored : warehouse
3
: a room in which powder and other explosives are kept in a fort or a ship
4
: the contents of a magazine: such as
a
: an accumulation of munitions (see munition sense 2) of war
b
: a stock of provisions (see provision entry 1 sense 2) or goods
5
: a supply chamber: such as
a
: a holder in or on a gun for cartridges (see cartridge sense 1) to be fed into the gun chamber
b
: a lightproof chamber for films or plates on a camera or for film on a motion-picture projector

Examples of magazine in a Sentence

She subscribes to several gardening magazines. the village kept a magazine where people left common supplies
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
According to Time magazine, she was invited to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence after launching attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025 Your guests, in fact, don’t care that there is a stack of magazines on the coffee table! Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 4 Apr. 2025 An eclectic bounty of soda cans, margarine tubs, shampoo bottles, pizza boxes and magazines tumbles down a ramp onto a massive table that comfortably fits four people on each of its three unblocked sides. Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 4 Apr. 2025 Contributors such as Italian fashion’s favorite philosopher Emanuele Coccia and international collaborators like Luke Abrahams also curated features for the magazine’s first issue. Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 4 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for magazine

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Old Occitan, from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan storehouse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of magazine was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Magazine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/magazine. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

magazine

noun
mag·​a·​zine ˈmag-ə-ˌzēn How to pronounce magazine (audio)
ˌmag-ə-ˈzēn
1
: a storehouse or warehouse especially for military supplies
2
: a place for keeping explosives in a fort or ship
3
: a publication containing different pieces (as stories, articles, or poems) and issued at regular intervals (as weekly or monthly)
4
: a supply chamber: as
a
: a container in a gun for holding cartridges
b
: a container for film on a camera or motion-picture projector
Etymology

from early French magazine "storehouse, warehouse," derived from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan "storehouse, granary, cellar"

Word Origin
Magazine originally meant "storehouse" or "granary" or "cellar." It came into an early French dialect and then English from the Arabic word makhzan (plural makhāzin). Makhzan had all these meanings. In military and naval use magazine came to mean a storage place for gunpowder or weapons or a place on a warship where the powder was kept. Later it came to mean either a place where valuable things were stored or the stored things themselves. A new sense of magazine appeared in 1731 with the first issue of a monthly publication called The Gentleman's Magazine, a collection or storehouse of short stories and articles about things of interest to the general reader. This use of magazine caught on and was used for similar publications.

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