ஆவணம் என்பது எண்ணங்களை எழுதியோ, வரைந்தோ காட்சிப்படுத்தும் கோப்பு ஆகும். ஆவணங்கள் காகிதத்தாளில் வெளிவந்தன. ஆவணங்களை கணினிக் கோப்புகளாக உருவாக்குவதும் உண்டு. இதற்கு எண்ணிம ஆவணத்தை எடுத்துக்காட்டாக கூறலாம். எண்ணங்களை சேமித்து வைத்தலை ஆவணப்படுத்தல் என்று குறிப்பிடுவர்.

A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin Documentum, which denotes a "teaching" or "lesson": the verb doceō denotes "to teach". In the past, the word was usually used to denote written proof useful as evidence of a truth or fact. In the Computer Age, "document" usually denotes a primarily textual computer file, including its structure and format, e.g. fonts, colors, and images. Contemporarily, "document" is not defined by its transmission medium, e.g., paper, given the existence of electronic documents. "Documentation" is distinct because it has more denotations than "document". Documents are also distinguished from "realia", which are three-dimensional objects that would otherwise satisfy the definition of "document" because they memorialize or represent thought; documents are considered more as two-dimensional representations. While documents can have large varieties of customization, all documents can be shared freely and have the right to do so, creativity can be represented by documents, also. History, events, examples, opinions, etc. all can be expressed in documents.