noun
biography
beye-OG-ruh-fee
noun
1
A written account of a person's life, usually published as a book.
"She read a biography of Winston Churchill last month."
"The singer's biography reveals details about her childhood."
How to Use Biography
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe written story of someone's whole life, usually researched and written by someone else.
Common mistake
An "autobiography" is written by the subject themselves; a "biography" is written by someone else about them.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
write a biography
authorised biography
Word Forms
biographied past tense, biographies plural, biographies singular
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She read a _____ of Winston Churchill last month.
Etymology
Borrowed via New Latin biographia from Ancient Greek bios ("life") and graphia ("writing") — literally "life-writing."