autobiography

[ aw-tuh-bahy-og-ruh-fee, -bee-, aw-toh- ]

noun

, plural au·to·bi·og·ra·phies.

1. a history of a person's life written or told by that person.

autobiography

/ ˌɔːtəʊbaɪˈɒɡrəfɪ; ˌɔːtəbaɪ- /

noun

1. an account of a person's life written or otherwise recorded by that person

autobiography

1. A literary work about the writer's own life. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklinand Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa are autobiographical.

Derived Forms

• ˌautobiˈographer, noun

Other Words From

• auto·bi·ogra·pher noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of autobiography¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; auto- ¹ + biography

Example Sentences

The 74-year-old said she bought his autobiography, Tomorrow Will be a Good Day, as she thought the money would go to charity.

From BBC

For many boarding school students, corporal punishment was regarded as "normal", former Zimbabwean cricketer Henry Olonga, who was attending the camp the night Guide died, said in his 2015 autobiography.

From BBC

Chapter 9 is about Frederick Douglass and identity-aware liberalism, as expressed through his autobiographies.

From Salon

"In fact she wrote two autobiographies herself so the story is out there but although she was known completely throughout the Commonwealth she is hardly known today which is sad."

From BBC

In her autobiography Leading From The Back, the three-time Women's Super League winner details the struggles she endured as she fought for better pay.

From BBC

Related Words

• biography
• confession
• diary
• journal
• letter
• life story
• memoir