noun
Uncommon
autobiography
aw-tuh-beye-OG-ruh-fee
Autobiography (noun) means an account of a person's life written by that person. Example: “The footballer's autobiography became a bestseller within days.”
noun
1
An account of a person's life written by that person.
"The footballer's autobiography became a bestseller within days."
"Here I was interrupted, as I'm so often interrupted when giving my views on the Yeoman's Wedding Song, by her saying that she was dying to hear all about it but would rather wait till she could get it in my autobiography."
— P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing (1960)
"She spent two years writing her autobiography about growing up on a farm."
"Have you read his autobiography, or only the biography written by a friend?"
How to use autobiography
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe story of someone's life, written by themselves.
Common mistake
An autobiography is written by the subject; a biography is written by someone else about them.
Easily confused with
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Word forms
- Plural
- autobiographies
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The footballer's _____ became a bestseller within days.
Etymology
From auto- ("self") plus biography, from Greek bíos ("life") and gráphō ("write").
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for autobiography
geography
biography
demography
tomography
ideography
topography
lithography
iconography
mammography
discography
paleography
photography
See all rhymes for autobiography →
Frequently asked questions
What does “autobiography” mean?
The word “autobiography” means an account of a person's life written by that person. In plain terms, the story of someone's life, written by themselves.
How do you pronounce “autobiography”?
“Autobiography” is pronounced aw-tuh-beye-OG-ruh-fee (/ˌɔː.tə.baɪˈɒɡ.ɹə.fi/ in IPA).
How do you use “autobiography” in a sentence?
Here is “autobiography” used in a sentence: “The footballer's autobiography became a bestseller within days.”
What is another word for “autobiography”?
Words with a similar meaning to “autobiography” include memoir and life story.
What is the opposite of “autobiography”?
The opposite of “autobiography” — its antonyms — is heterobiography.
What part of speech is “autobiography”?
“Autobiography” is a noun.
Where does the word “autobiography” come from?
The word “autobiography” comes from Greek. From auto- ("self") plus biography, from Greek bíos ("life") and gráphō ("write").
Is “autobiography” a common word?
“Autobiography” is an uncommon word in modern English.
What is the difference between an autobiography and a biography?
An autobiography is an account of a person's life written by that person, told from their own perspective. A biography is written by someone else about another person's life, typically based on research and interviews. The key difference is authorship: an autobiography always comes from the subject themselves.
What is the difference between an autobiography and a memoir?
An autobiography usually covers a person's entire life from birth to the present in roughly chronological order. A memoir tends to focus on a specific period, theme, or set of experiences rather than the whole life story. Both are self-written, but a memoir is narrower in scope.
Can an autobiography be written with help from someone else?
An autobiography is defined as an account written by the subject, so books produced with substantial outside help are sometimes labeled 'as told to' rather than pure autobiographies. In practice, many books marketed as autobiographies involve a ghostwriter or collaborator to some degree. The label is applied loosely even when strict self-authorship is debatable.
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