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:
He headed a unit conducting operations behind enemy lines in Chernobyl after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, and participated in many battles in eastern Ukraine, according to his official biography.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
In exchange, James and his business partner Maverick Carter were given a 2% stake in Liverpool, according to “LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete,” a biography written by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Or a new generation of candidates – tattooed veterans, mechanics, bartenders – whose biography is supposed to do the political work that policy has not.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
“Tony” stays planted in its own immediate present, rarely hinting at the veers Bourdain’s biography will take.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Brooklyn said that in his biography, everyone who ever knew him and all of his teachers are completely surprised he’s been so successful,” she continued.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
His daughter, Katie Niederhoffer, said that until the last days of his life, she kept him stocked with books, everything from textbooks and biographies to books on trees and resilience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The book offers capsule biographies of the game’s young stars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 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
So I love to look for vegan books, nutrition books, rock biographies and autobiographies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
This paragraph from Accidental Millionaire, one of the many Jobs biographies, gives us a sense of how extraordinary his childhood experiences were.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
