biography
Americannoun
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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
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.
The elder Gonzalez is a native of Venezuela who works at the Florida-based law firm Shahady & Wurtenberger, where he specializes in international cases, according to his biography on the law firm’s website.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Instead, Gallrein simply functioned as an anthropomorphized biography.
From Slate • May 19, 2026
Revealing much about the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal was Andrew Lownie's biography, Entitled, which is being released again this week with fresh allegations.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
After Lincoln’s death Herndon co-wrote an influential biography of the assassinated president in which he trashed Mary and declared that Lincoln’s only true love was Ann Rutledge, who had died in 1835.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
The jacket he wore was a part of his father’s history, a fragment of Bull’s biography that occurred before Ben’s birth.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
