autograph
Americannoun
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autographs
plural
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a person's own signature.
He collects autographs of artists.
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something written in a person's own hand, as a manuscript or letter.
adjective
-
written by a person's own hand.
an autograph letter.
-
containing autographs.
an autograph album.
verb (used with object)
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autographs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
autographed,
past participle, past
-
autographing
present participle
-
to write one's name on or in; sign.
to autograph a book.
-
to write with one's own hand.
noun
-
-
a handwritten signature, esp that of a famous person
-
( as modifier )
an autograph album
-
-
a person's handwriting
-
-
a book, document, etc, handwritten by its author; original manuscript; holograph
-
( as modifier )
an autograph letter
-
verb
-
to write one's signature on or in; sign
-
to write with one's own hand
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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autographsimple
-
autographssimple
-
have autographedperfect
-
has autographedperfect
-
am autographingprogressive
-
are autographingprogressive
-
is autographingprogressive
-
have been autographingperfect progressive
-
has been autographingperfect progressive
Past
-
autographedsimple
-
had autographedperfect
-
was autographingprogressive
-
were autographingprogressive
-
had been autographingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of autograph
1630–40; < Latin autographum, noun use of neuter of Latin autographus written with one's own hand < Greek autógraphos. See auto- 1, -graph
Explanation
If you sign your name on something, you autograph it. You have to autograph a check before it can be cashed. An autograph is a signature. Famous people are asked for their autographs all the time, but you might be surprised and flattered if a little girl asked for yours after you played Dorothy in your community theater production of "The Wizard of Oz." An original manuscript or musical composition written in the handwriting of the author or composer is also called an autograph. In 1938, the Museum of Modern Art displayed an autograph of Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer."
Vocabulary lists containing autograph
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Do it Yourself: Words Beginning with "AUTO"
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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.
See Examples For:
"There was a warmth and sincerity about her that shone through, and she never said no to having a photo taken or giving an autograph to anyone who asked."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
"It filled my heart because we were getting ready for war, yet she was still asking for my autograph," said Brown.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Musicaro had once gotten Cher’s autograph, and loved to tell his children stories of celebrity fares.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington—and once waited in the lobby of Coleman Hawkins’s building so he could get the tenor saxophonist’s autograph.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
She was holding an autograph pen and a crumpled poster of Narcissus.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Billy Ray Smith is at this trendy restaurant, doing autographs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
To this day, he remembers getting autographs from players he idolized such as Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He enjoyed answering the youngsters' questions and playing football with them at the school before signing autographs for students who, in some cases, were barely younger than he was.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Cheers resumed before Murray headed on to the balcony of the Wimbledon pavilion to show off his trophy to the thousands of fans below, stopping to sign autographs and pose for selfies.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
He looked kind of bashful, but he was signing autographs on armor, shields, and T-shirts.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
A dual Logoman Kobe-Jordan autographed card that my syndicate bought for $12.93 million last August is now worth $21 million.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
A museum on the grounds features a jersey autographed by the 2006 squad and a replica of the Golden Soccer Boot donated by famed striker Hugo Sánchez.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
I have an autographed Bobby Cox jersey at home.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
Car sales soared when Southern dealers gave autographed replicas of Pusser’s club to buyers.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
Not having any idea what it might contain, I opened it and, to my amazement, found an autographed photograph of Dr. Wernher von Braun with a personal note in his own handwriting.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
He professed a hatred for “literary life” while participating in most of its rituals, from autographing to prize-giving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Sheikh Hamad, viewed as the modernizer of Qatar during his 18 years as ruler, further delighted the crowd by autographing an official World Cup shirt handed to him by his son.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2022
“Keep driving it hard, man,” he told one group after autographing their Clippers flag, sounding like that high school kid cheering his teammates up The Hill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2022
By about 4 p.m., a crowd had formed a semicircle around Stewart’s trailer, T-shirts and model cars in hand for autographing.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2018
Marcia was Alec's fiancée before he lost his memory, and she recognizes him when he's in this store autographing books.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
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.
