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

A community garden has replaced a drug market, a library stands where an unofficial dumping ground once accumulated milk crates, and formerly deserted blocks now have families moving in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Students ski at the college’s Nordic center, skate at the Sidney J. Watson Arena, and borrow outdoor equipment from an extensive gear library.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Florian Ospina, in the school library, made sure no chess pieces were missing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The trophies the girls won for excellence at school sit alongside the books on the shelves of the home library he and his wife, a teacher, have proudly put together for them.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Sure, I know where the library is,” Grandpa said.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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

Maria could visit libraries full of scholarly works and seek out fellow insect scholars, collectors, and artists.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman