bibliography

American  

[bib-lee-og-ruh-fee] / ˌbɪb liˈɒg rə fi /

noun

bibliographies plural

1. a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.

2. a list of source materials that are used or consulted in the preparation of a work or that are referred to in the text.

3. a branch of library science dealing with the history, physical description, comparison, and classification of books and other works.

---

bibliography British  

/ ˌbɪblɪəʊˈɡræfɪk, ˌbɪblɪˈɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. a list of books or other material on a subject

2. a list of sources used in the preparation of a book, thesis, etc

3. a list of the works of a particular author or publisher

4. 1. the study of the history, classification, etc, of literary material

   2. a work on this subject

---

bibliography Cultural  

1. A list of the written sources of information on a subject. Bibliographies generally appear as a list at the end of a book or article. They may show what works the author used in writing the article or book, or they may list works that a reader might find useful.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bibliographer
  noun
• bibliographic
  adjective
• bibliographically
  adverb
• bibliographical
  adjective
• minibibliography
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• bibliographies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bibliography

From the Greek word bibliographía, dating back to 1670–80. See biblio-, -graphy

Explanation

A bibliography is a list of writings by an author, such as the lengthy bibliography of Joyce Carol Oates, or a list of writings someone uses in a project, like the bibliography at the end of a research paper. Bibliography comes from the Greek word biblio, or "book," and graphos, which is "something written or drawn." So, a bibliography is made when someone writes a list of books or other written works. You may have included a bibliography with a research paper you have written, to give credit to your sources. However, due to the popularity of using internet sources instead of books these days, some writers prefer "Works Cited" over "Bibliography."

Example Sentences

Years ago, at a sparsely attended Sacramento library book sale, I bought “An Annotated Bibliography of California Fiction, 1664-1970.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023

See Compiling Sources for an Annotated Bibliography for more information about peer-reviewed publications.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

One could make a similar claim for Terry Zobeck’s compulsively readable “A Trawl Among the Shelves: Lawrence Block Bibliography, 1958-2020.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2020

The keeper of the Brautigan Bibliography and Archive, John Barber, said that Mr. Brautigan first visited New York City in March 1969, and again in 1970.

From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2011

Bibliography of the writings of the members of the American Historical Association for 1890. 30pp.

From United States Government Publications, v. 8 Jan-Jun 1892 A Monthly Catalog by Compiled