biographer
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of biographer
First recorded in 1705–15; biograph(y) + -er 1
Explanation
A biographer is a writer who specializes in true stories of other people's lives. The finished books that biographers publish are called biographies. In some cases, well-known writers, actors, and other public figures work with biographers in order to collaborate on their own biographies. Other times, biographers research the lives of their subjects after they've died. In the 1660s, they were known as biographists. The root of all variations on biography is the Late Greek biographia, "description of life," from bio-, "life," and graphia, "record or account."
Vocabulary lists containing biographer
Words to Live By: Bio
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: bio
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: graph
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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.
In the words of biographer David Reynolds, Brown’s execution helped “spark” the Civil War.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026
Leo didn’t want to get involved in politics, he told his biographer Allen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
Her biographer, Mark Oppenheimer, is a middle-aged father of five.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
That charity, whose focus includes victims of sex trafficking, has been described by royal biographer Andrew Lownie as a "preposterously inappropriate cause" for Eugenie to be involved with.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
His mind, in the words of one biographer, was "always operating out towards the frontiers, as far as he could see, and that was a great deal further than most other men."
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
