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Synonyms

walking encyclopedia

Idioms  

  1. A very knowledgeable person, as in Ask Rob—he's a walking encyclopedia of military history. A similar expression, a walking dictionary, was used by George Chapman in his poem “Tears of Peace” (c. 1600).

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.

Other economists describe him as a walking encyclopedia and the Pelé of central banking, referring to the Brazilian soccer legend.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

She is a walking encyclopedia of great performances and buried, esoteric moments in both media.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2025

In a business fixated on hits, Mr. Stein was a walking encyclopedia of 20th-century pop, and more.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023

There, he would school me on how everything used to be in the streets back in the day, and I would happily listen, as I quickly learned that Burns was a walking encyclopedia.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2023

They’re a walking encyclopedia when it comes to pop culture, quoting the lines from their favorite movies verbatim or reciting every lyric from the latest rap CD.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

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.