autobiography

noun

au·​to·​bi·​og·​ra·​phy ˌȯ-tə-bī-ˈä-grə-fē 

-bē-

plural autobiographies

: the biography of a person narrated by that person : a usually written account of a person's life in their own words

celebrity autobiographies

The fall and rise of Chrysler Corporation is an oft-told tale—three books on the subject have appeared already, including Lee Iacocca's bestselling autobiography.

—Jerry Flint

Frederick Douglass's autobiographies are invaluable both for what they reveal about antebellum slavery and for what they reveal about a remarkable American.

—Peter Kolchin

This last book … is part autobiography and part fiction, though it is listed as fiction.

—Mims Cushing

Some 400 crowded both floors of the bookstore and lined up around the block as Iggy [Pop] signed the entire stock of 200 copies of his autobiography "I Need More."

—Publishers Weekly

In recent years, the biggest-selling baseball books have been autobiographies of colorful personalities, written with the aid of collaborators.

—Ray Walters

The letters are arranged chronologically and episodically to form an autobiography.

—William S. McFeely

Examples of autobiography in a Sentence

I read her autobiography last year.

Recent Examples on the Web

And despite her long and varied career, June (like her father) never penned an autobiography. —Nick Thomas, Hartford Courant, 10 June 2025

A little over a year after the release of Stone’s autobiography, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), a documentary, 2025’s Sly Lives! —Elias Leight, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025

And yes, Allardyce did use his 2015 autobiography to question whether Morrison was cut out to be an elite footballer. —Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 6 June 2025

Hollywood heartthrob Elliot Owen needs someone to ghostwrite his autobiography and Edie’s just the woman for the job. —Laura Wood, People.com, 4 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

auto- + biography, perhaps after German Autobiographie

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing autobiography

• semi-autobiography

Rhymes for autobiography

• arteriography
• biogeography
• cholangiography
• cinematography
• historiography
• photolithography
• photomicrography
• ultrasonography
• ventriculography
• angiocardiography
• electrocardiography
• arthrography

Kids Definition

autobiography

noun

au·​to·​bi·​og·​ra·​phy ˌȯt-ə-bī-ˈäg-rə-fē 

-bē-

: a biography written by the person it is about

autobiographer

-rə-fər 

noun

autobiographical

-ˌbī-ə-ˈgraf-i-kəl 

adjective

also autobiographic

-ˈgraf-ik 

autobiographically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb