library

American  

[lahy-brer-ee, -bruh-ree, -bree] / ˈlaɪˌbrɛr i, -brə ri, -bri /

noun

• libraries
  plural

1. a place set apart to contain books, periodicals, and other material for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference, as a room, set of rooms, or building where books may be read or borrowed.

2. a public body organizing and maintaining such an establishment.

3. a collection of manuscripts, publications, and other materials for reading, viewing, listening, study, or reference.

4. a collection of any materials for study and enjoyment, as films, musical recordings, or maps.

5. a commercial establishment lending books for a fixed charge; a lending library.

6. a series of books of similar character or alike in size, binding, etc., issued by a single publishing house.

7. Biology. a collection of standard materials or formulations by which specimens are identified.

8. canon.

9. Computers. a collection of software or data usually reflecting a specific theme or application.

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library British  

/ ˈlaɪbrərɪ /

noun

1. a room or set of rooms where books and other literary materials are kept

2. a collection of literary materials, films, CDs, children's toys, etc, kept for borrowing or reference

3. the building or institution that houses such a collection

   a public library

4. a set of books published as a series, often in a similar format

5. computing a collection of standard programs and subroutines for immediate use, usually stored on disk or some other storage device

6. a collection of specific items for reference or checking against

   a library of genetic material

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Pronunciation

Library, with one r -sound following close upon another, is particularly vulnerable to the process of dissimilation—the tendency for neighboring like sounds to become unlike, or for one of them to disappear altogether. The pronunciation , therefore, while still the most common, is frequently reduced by educated speakers, both in the U.S. and in England, to the dissimilated or . A third dissimilated form is more likely to be heard from less educated or very young speakers, and is often criticized. See colonel, February, governor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interlibrary
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• libraries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of library

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English libraire, from Middle French librairie, from Medieval Latin librāria, noun use of feminine of Latin librārius (adjective) “of books,” from libr-, stem of liber “book” + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A library is a place where collections of books are kept. If you ever want a reminder of how very much there is to learn in this world, pay a visit to your local library. The noun library, meaning, “a room or building where books are housed,” comes from the Latin librarium “chest for books.” That, in turn, evolved from the Latin liber, a word meaning “book, paper, parchment,” and, more literally, “the inner bark of trees.” The writer Jorge Luis Borges said, “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” What would your vision of paradise look like?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

library libraries

She had learned her daughter and fellow students were being kept in the school's library.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Examples can include speaking too loudly in a library or struggling to control impulses, difficulties that can occur with ADHD.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

The event features hundreds of teams competing in events such as running and football as well as less sporty challenges like box opening and sorting library books.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The complaint to the Education Department also alleges the removal this year from at least one library of an unnamed book by Maya Angelou and an unnamed middle school book that touched on sexual identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

“If these aren’t real…” I shake the flimsy pieces of cardboard. “…then I have no actual information about my mother. She could be anywhere in the world. She could be in this library right now.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Where Tumblr-ites dreamed of the cloistered quads and moody libraries of Princeton in the 2010s, TikTok-ers now obsess over the elaborate rituals of University of Alabama sororities.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

Firing up machines in their own homes or at local libraries and maker spaces, they are printing door locks, furniture hinges, storage containers and appliance parts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The company also must provide free broadband and Wi-Fi service for dozens of eligible community centers, including schools and libraries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

"We see something that doesn't really look like anything else we've identified in the solar system; it doesn't match anything we have in our spectral libraries."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

He explained that we were fighting for equality, that we should be able to go to state fairs and public libraries and zoos.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry