biography

[bahy-og-ruh-fee, bee-]

noun

plural

biographies 

1. a written account of another person's life.

   the biography of Byron by Marchand.

2. an account in biographical form of an organization, society, theater, animal, etc.

3. such writings collectively.

4. the writing of biography as an occupation or field of endeavor.

biography

/ baɪˈɒɡrəfɪ, ˌbaɪəˈɡræfɪkəl /

noun

1. an account of a person's life by another

2. such accounts collectively

biography

1. The story of someone's life. The Life of Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell, and Abraham Lincoln, by Carl Sandburg, are two noted biographies. The story of the writer's own life is an autobiography.

Other Word Forms

• biographer noun
• biographical adjective
• biographically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of biography¹

From the Greek word biographía, dating back to 1675–85. See bio-, -graphy

Example Sentences

“His own biography — born in India, sent to Burma as a young soldier, doing what he did there and being ashamed of it — drew him closer to my own experience,” Peck says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A biography on the school district's website says that "he was born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn, NY".

Read more on BBC

Until recently, Stringer’s biography was fairly standard for a Hollywood transplant.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Defense Department purges images, biographies and histories that reference the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo code talkers and baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Read more on Salon

According to a friendly biography, he reorganized the prison library and renovated the prison pond, and cleared brush from the grounds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• autobiography 
• diary 
• journal 
• life 
• life story www.thesaurus.com
• memoir 
• picture 
• profile 
• sketch