encyclopedia

noun

en·​cy·​clo·​pe·​dia in-ˌsī-klə-ˈpē-dē-ə 

: a work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject

Examples of encyclopedia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Shaffer was a musical encyclopedia, and his band prided itself on being able to respond almost instantly to anything that happened on the show. —Chris Almeida, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025

Bond has a history of running RPG campaigns, which Gailey has participated as a player, and is somewhat of an encyclopedia of RPG games released within the last two or three decades. —Curtis Silver, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

According to the encyclopedia's entry, George kept the staff small, hiring only four engineers and three helpers. —Arkansas Online, 24 Aug. 2025

At the top of that list was Wheeler, a whip-smart, hilarious, genial country boy from Belmont, N.C., who was a walking encyclopedia both of NASCAR knowledge and of what made race fans tick. —Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 21 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin encyclopaedia course of general education, from Greek enkyklios + paideia education, child rearing, from paid-, pais child — more at few

First Known Use

1644, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for encyclopedia

• cyclopaedia
• cyclopedia
• hypermedia
• intermedia
• multimedia
• comedia
• commedia
• encyclopaedia

Kids Definition

encyclopedia

noun

en·​cy·​clo·​pe·​dia

variants also encyclopaedia

in-ˌsī-klə-ˈpēd-ē-ə

: a work that contains information on all subjects or one that covers a certain subject thoroughly usually with articles arranged alphabetically

Etymology

from Latin encyclopedia "course of general education," from Greek enkyklios "general, all-around," literally, "circular" and Greek paideia "education, child rearing"