magazine

American  

[mag-uh-zeen, mag-uh-zeen] / ˌmæg əˈzin, ˈmæg əˌzin /

noun

• magazines
  plural

1. a publication that is issued periodically, usually bound in a paper cover, and typically contains essays, stories, poems, etc., by many writers, and often photographs and drawings, frequently specializing in a particular subject or area, as hobbies, news, or sports.

2. a room or place for keeping gunpowder and other explosives, as in a fort or on a warship.

3. a building or place for keeping military stores, as arms, ammunition, or provisions.

4. a metal receptacle for a number of cartridges, inserted into certain types of automatic weapons and when empty removed and replaced by a full receptacle in order to continue firing.

5. Also called magazine show. Radio and Television.

   1. Also called newsmagazine. a regularly scheduled news program consisting of several short segments in which various subjects of current interest are examined, usually in greater detail than on a regular newscast.

   2. a program with a varied format that combines interviews, commentary, entertainment, etc.

6. magazine section.

7. Photography. cartridge.

8. a supply chamber, as in a stove.

9. a storehouse; warehouse.

10. a collection of war munitions.

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magazine British  

/ ˌmæɡəˈziːn /

noun

1. a periodical paperback publication containing articles, fiction, photographs, etc

2. a metal box or drum holding several cartridges used in some kinds of automatic firearms; it is removed and replaced when empty

3. a building or compartment for storing weapons, explosives, military provisions, etc

4. a stock of ammunition

5. a device for continuously recharging a handling system, stove, or boiler with solid fuel

6. photog another name for cartridge

7. a rack for automatically feeding a number of slides through a projector

8. a TV or radio programme made up of a series of short nonfiction items

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• magazinish
  adjective
• magaziny
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• magazines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of magazine

First recorded in 1575–85; from French magasin, from Italian magazzino “warehouse, depot” from Arabic makhāzin, plural of makhzan “storehouse”; in English figuratively, as “storehouse of information,” used in book titles (from c1640) and periodical titles (in The Gentleman's Magazine, 1731)

Explanation

A magazine is a printed publication that comes out regularly and includes photographs and articles. Before cell phones became popular, people used to read magazines in doctors' waiting rooms. Magazines were once only printed on paper, but today there are also online magazines. These electronic versions are similar to traditional magazines in that they publish periodically and include stories, illustrations or photos, and usually advertisements. The original definition of magazine was a space for ammunition storage, either in a building or ship, or attached to a weapon. The very first printed magazine was called "Gentleman's Magazine," from the idea that it was a "storehouse" of knowledge.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

magazine magazines

Jason Aten, a tech columnist at Inc. magazine, reported that his Muse read and regurgitated his private messages even though he believed he had denied it that capability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

But he did Thursday after Time magazine published the full transcript of a 75-minute interview with the president.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026

Officials in Ocean City, N.J. spent $370,000 this year to keep aggressive seagulls away from diners’ plates at restaurants along the Jersey Shore, according to New Jersey Monthly magazine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Her creations are aimed at "a normal woman, self-assured, who, when she gets dressed, feels good in our clothes," she said in an interview with Vogue magazine.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

He didn’t know why and never found out; instead, Charlie bought two rail cars’ worth of ethanol futures, and made headlines in Ethanol Today, a magazine of whose existence he was previously unaware.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Aler called New York from the Netherlands for a telephone press conference with 16 U.S. newspapers, wire services and magazines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

They didn’t locate any weapons, but they did find a pair of detached pistol magazines.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

She had Japanese fashion magazines around, and I didn’t grow up with any of that stuff, so that was my first exposure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

“Most movie magazines relied on movie studios for information and access to stars,” Terry Hoover writes for The Henry Ford.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

Thanks to the movie magazines, I also knew that Anna May was nineteen, just three years older than me.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• booklet
• brochure
• daily
• journal
• manual
• newsletter
• newspaper
• pamphlet
• paper
• periodical
• weekly