Biography
/baɪˈɒɡrəfi/
nounIntermediate📊CommonLiterature
1 meaning1 question
Definitions
1
A written account of someone's life, usually including their personal experiences and achievements.
/baɪˈɒɡrəfi/
nounneutralIntermediate
Literature
A detailed description of someone's life.
I'm reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln.
💡 Simply: A story about someone's life.
More Examples
2
She is writing a biography of her grandmother.
How It's Used
Literary
"She wrote a compelling biography of the renowned scientist."
Historical
"The biography detailed his rise to power and subsequent downfall."
From Middle French biographie, from Ancient Greek βίος (bios, "life") + γράφειν (graphein, "to write").
The term 'biography' has been used in a similar sense since the 16th century, although the modern understanding of the genre developed later.
Memory tip
Bio (life) + graphy (writing)
Word Origin
LanguageGreek
Original meaning
"bios (life) + graphein (to write)"
Base: biograph
write a biographyauthorized biographyunofficial biography
Common misspellings
biografybiographbiograghy
Practice
Usage
20%Spoken
80%Written