biography
Americannoun
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a written account of another person's life.
the biography of Byron by Marchand.
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an account in biographical form of an organization, society, theater, animal, etc.
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such writings collectively.
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the writing of biography as an occupation or field of endeavor.
noun
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an account of a person's life by another
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such accounts collectively
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of biography
From the Greek word biographía, dating back to 1675–85. See bio-, -graphy
Explanation
A biography is an account of somebody's life written by somebody else, complete with details of the most important parts. These days, anyone, of any age, can be the subject of a biography: Justin Bieber, at the tender age of 17, had one written about his life. A biography is not to be confused with an autobiography, an account of someone's life written by the subject himself. You'll find biographies in printed form (remember books?), but also increasingly in the form of e-books, TV dramatizations, and cinematic "bio-docs."
Vocabulary lists containing biography
Words to Live By: Bio
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Write On!: Graph and Gram
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The fashion world was hesitant to embrace the first movie, because everyone thought that Anna hated it,” says Amy Odell, the author of Anna: The Biography.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
Naman Ramachandran, author of Rajinikanth: A Definitive Biography, notes that Rajinikanth's fans range from Wall Street bankers to washerwomen in Tamil Nadu.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025
Hilburn, The Times’ pop music critic from 1970 to 2005, takes up Newman’s life and work in a new book, “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024
“Hanoi: Biography of a City,” by William Stewart Logan, and “Hanoi of a Thousand Years,” by Carol Howland, both explore the life and history of this ancient city.
From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2023
In the Biography section you see an old man reading The Tipping Point.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
