biography

/baɪˈɑgrəfi/

/baɪˈɒgrəfi/

Other forms: biographies

A biography is an account of somebody's life written by somebody else, complete with details of the most important parts.

These days, anyone, of any age, can be the subject of a biography: Justin Bieber, at the tender age of 17, had one written about his life. A biography is not to be confused with an autobiography, an account of someone's life written by the subject himself. You'll find biographies in printed form (remember books?), but also increasingly in the form of e-books, TV dramatizations, and cinematic "bio-docs."

Definitions of biography

1. noun

   an account of the series of events making up a person's life
   synonyms: life, life history, life story

   examples:

   Parallel Lives

   a collection of biographies of famous pairs of Greeks and Romans written by Plutarch; used by Shakespeare in writing some of his plays

   types:

   autobiography

   a biography of yourself

   hagiography

   a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person (especially a person who is a saint)

   profile

   biographical sketch

   memoir

   an account of the author's personal experiences

   type of:

   account, chronicle, history, story

   a record or narrative description of past events