autobiography

play

noun au·to·bi·og·ra·phy \ˌȯ-tə-bī-ˈä-grə-fē, -bē-\

Definition of autobiography

: the biography of a person narrated by himself or herself

autobiographer

play \-fər\ noun

autobiographical

play \-ˌbī-ə-ˈgra-fi-kəl\ or less commonly

autobiographic

play \-fik\ adjective

autobiographically

play \-fi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See autobiography defined for English-language learners

See autobiography defined for kids

Examples of autobiography in a Sentence

I read her autobiography last year.

Recent Examples of autobiography from the Web

During his time studying Armenia’s liturgical music at Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Suni studied under Komitas and later wrote in his autobiography that he was inspired by his teacher’s openness to folk music.

— Smithsonian, "Why This Composer Made Melodies Out of Mountainsides", 1 July 2017
The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age by Andrew O'Hagan (10/10, FSG) O'Hagan reports on his adventures in cyberspace, including ghostwriting Julian Assange's autobiography and tracking down the inventor of Bitcoin.

— aimee levitt, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Books Books we can’t wait to read in the rest of 2017", 28 June 2017
In his early teens, Prodigy once attempted suicide, hoping to release himself from the grip of his disease, according to his autobiography.

— derek hawkins, chicagotribune.com, "How rap revolutionary Prodigy, dead at 42, overcame the pain of sickle cell anemia", 21 June 2017
Her book won the National Book Critics Circle award for autobiography.

— jim higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Hope Jahren's memoir 'Lab Girl' is next Tosa All-City Read selection", 21 June 2017
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said in his 2006 autobiography iWoz, that contrary to some popular accounts, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs did not help build Apple’s first computers.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "Someone Just Bought An Old Apple Computer for $356,000", 20 June 2017
Generals write autobiographies; foot soldiers write memoirs.

— madeleine blais, Vanities, "Summering with Katharine Graham, the Washington Post Legend and Doyenne of Martha’s Vineyard", 19 June 2017
Royalties from the 1987 autobiography ranged between $100,000 and $1 million, according to the new report.

— julie bykowicz, Fortune, "Trump’s Washington Hotel Saw Almost $20 Million in Revenue", 17 June 2017
In one notable week in 2005, his client John Banville won the Booker Prize and Victor finalized a deal for Clapton's autobiography.

— Billboard, "Ed Victor, Literary Agent For Eric Clapton & Keith Richards, Dies at 77", 9 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'autobiography'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.