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Synonyms

biography

American  
[bahy-og-ruh-fee, bee-] / baɪˈɒg rə fi, bi- /

noun

plural

biographies

  1. a written account of another person's life.

    the biography of Byron by Marchand.

  2. an account in biographical form of an organization, society, theater, animal, etc.

  3. such writings collectively.

  4. the writing of biography as an occupation or field of endeavor.

biography British  
/ baɪˈɒɡrəfɪ, ˌbaɪəˈɡræfɪkəl /

noun

  1. an account of a person's life by another

  2. such accounts collectively

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
biography Cultural  

  1. The story of someone's life. The Life of Samuel Johnson, by James Boswell, and Abraham Lincoln, by Carl Sandburg, are two noted biographies. The story of the writer's own life is an autobiography.

Other Word Forms

  • biographer noun
  • biographical adjective
  • biographically adverb

Etymology

Origin of biography

From the Greek word biographía, dating back to 1675–85. See bio-, -graphy

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.

The historian Rachel Trethewey corrects that in a lively biography, “Muv,” which takes its title from the nickname Sydney’s children bestowed on her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

According to Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, Wayne, an engineer at the Atari video game company, was in charge of hardware engineering and documentation in the fledgling business.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Sherman, who also wrote the bestselling biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, spent 15 years reporting on the Murdoch empire.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2026

He appears in social science standards, English lessons, and units on American heroes and biography writing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

In 1896 she published a biography of Root that would have made an angel blush.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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.