anecdote
Americannoun
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anecdotes,
plural
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anecdota
plural
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a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
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a short, obscure historical or biographical account.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of anecdote
First recorded in 1670–80; from New Latin anecdota or French anecdotes, from Late Greek, Greek anékdota “things unpublished” (referring particularly to Procopius's unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neuter plural of anékdotos, equivalent to an- an- 1 + ékdotos “given out,” adjective derivative of ekdidónai “to give out, publish” ( ek- ec- + didónai “to give”)
Compare meaning
How does anecdote compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A short, amusing true story is an anecdote. You might come back from a crazy spring break with a lot of anecdotes to tell. The roots of anecdote lie in the Greek word anekdota, meaning "unpublished." The word's original sense in English was "secret or private stories" — tales not fit for print, so to speak. It can still have connotations of unreliability, as in the phrase "anecdotal information." But the most common sense today is that of "a funny story about something that happened."
Vocabulary lists containing anecdote
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Argumentative Writing
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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:
A revealing anecdote from the early pages of the book: Tana turned away Barbara Sinatra’s offer to buy out the restaurant for a night for Frank Sinatra’s birthday at $25,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
He even was part of the team that saved Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an anecdote that took off during his campaign.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
The anecdote neatly captures the essence of Oliver Hilmes’s “Summer of Freedom: How 1945 Changed the World,” originally published in German in 2025 and now available in Jefferson Chase’s excellent English translation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
And Wiseman relayed an amusing anecdote about Canadian Hansen, whose trip around the Moon was also his first time in space.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
He had not meant to give up the anecdote about his obsession with The Mummy in his interview.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Fortunately, Benson has been so diligent in gathering papers and anecdota that he escapes from his own simplifications.
From Time Magazine Archive
Happily, this soon gives way to anecdota and reminiscence.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of such anecdota there are many collections; the earliest was probably L. A. Muratori's, in 1709.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Part 1, Slice 1 by Various
WSJ readers weighed in on the trend with anecdotes, opinions, and of course, a few jokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Eastern, and the Federal Reserve’s beige book of economic anecdotes, due at 2 p.m.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Alison Green solicited reader anecdotes about how their dogs-at-work policies have played out and considers the issue from all angles.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
His anecdotes are punctuated with nervous laughter, although he's better at making eye contact than when we first met in the Killers' heyday.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
We often pass the time amusing ourselves with anecdotes about you.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
