biography
Americannoun
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biographies
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
His books on New York City planner Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson function as both biography and challenge, their hefty page counts daring readers to dive in.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Oscar Wilde and His World,” a short biography published in 1966, was well-received, but as the critics pointed out, nothing in it would lead you to suppose that the subject was gay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
In April, she posted a message to fans saying she was having "positive conversations" with Katseye's management, but not before she removed references to the band from her Instagram biography.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
As Dolly Parton celebrates her 80th birthday and a new “Dolly Parton Day,” a new biography by Martha Ackmann looks back at the star’s rise from poverty to philanthropy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Brooklyn held up the biography and said, “That part’s on page three.”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
As well as "Succession", the five-times married tycoon has been the subject of a spate of biographies, as well as a new Netflix documentary, "Dynasty: The Murdochs" which was released in March this year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
In between the book’s linked stories, Ms. Daanje inserts excerpts from those scant archives—Millicent’s letters, the poems and cryptic jottings from Eliza May’s notebooks—as well as passages from various later biographies of the Draydens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
There is also a focus on the lives of the slaves who lived and worked at Mount Vernon, with artifacts such as farm tools and cookware as well as biographies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
He published a number of autobiographical books, as well as biographies of John Wesley and William and Catherine Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
I've made great progress with many of them, because for a long time I've been taking notes while reading biographies or history books.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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.
