magazine
Pluralmagazines
- 1A publication for general readers, printed or online, that comes out regularly, with articles by different writers on a topic.
Like a newspaper, but with longer stories and pictures, coming out each week or month.
She bought a fashion magazine at the airport.
The waiting room had stacks of old magazines.
UsageSay you read something in a magazine.
Similarperiodical
- 2A part of a gun that holds bullets and feeds them in one after another.
Like a Pez dispenser that pushes out one candy at a time.
He slid a fresh magazine into the rifle.
Empty magazines were scattered across the shooting range.
Similarclip
- 3A building or room, for example on a warship, where bullets, shells, or explosives are kept.
Like a locked shed where dangerous fireworks are kept safely apart.
A spark near the magazine could set off an explosion.
Soldiers guarded the magazine day and night.
UsageOften called a powder magazine, so no one thinks of the kind you read.
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Less common meanings
- 4A radio or TV show with many different parts or segments in each episode, like a printed magazine.
Like a variety show that puts many small parts together in one program.
Their morning radio magazine mixes news, cooking tips, and live music.
She hosts a weekly arts magazine on public television.
UsageOften used before another word: magazine show, magazine format.
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- 5A part of a machine that holds a supply of something and feeds it in, like film or fuel.
Like a container on a machine that feeds in supplies bit by bit.
The camera's magazine held enough film for a hundred shots.
She refilled the stove's magazine with wood pellets.
- 6A country or area that is very rich in natural goods or resources.
UsageUsually a magazine of something, like a magazine of grain.
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- 7A city seen as a major center for buying and selling goods.
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- 8A store or shop where goods are kept and sold.
- 9A set of linked Teletext pages grouped together on a TV service.
Most teletext "magazines" contain about 100 pages of information, typically including news headlines, weather reports, sports scores, video games, and stock prices.
1983, Channels of CommunicationsHere, magazines means groups of related teletext pages on a TV service.
Practice
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Origin
It came through French and Italian words meaning "storehouse," from an Arabic word for a storeroom. It was first written down in 1451 and came into wider use in the 1580s.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The word came through French and Italian storehouse words, ultimately from Arabic. en.wikipedia.org
- The Middle English form magasyne is recorded in the Cantelowe Accounts of 1450–1451. en.wiktionary.org