oral history
noun
1
: a recording containing information about the past obtained from in-depth interviews concerning personal experiences, recollections, and reflections
also
: the study of such information
2
: a written work based on oral history
oral historian
noun
Examples of oral history in a Sentence
I'm reading an oral history of the Great Depression.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dan's funeral was as epic as the show has ever been (hence our 22,000-word oral history on the episode).
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
The history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has recently become the subject of numerous oral history projects, where the stories of survivors, caregivers, activists, and health care professionals have been collected and made available online, traditionally published, and edited into documentaries.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 3 June 2026
Reality check When Pocahontas sat for Van de Passe, his portrait did more than create a resemblance of the young woman, who would die the following year, soon after leaving London – felled either by disease or, as a Virginia tribe’s oral history suggests, poison.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
Years later, executive producer and writer Liz Sarnoff explained it in Vulture's oral history of the Lost finale.
—Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for oral history
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Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
The history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has recently become the subject of numerous oral history projects, where the stories of survivors, caregivers, activists, and health care professionals have been collected and made available online, traditionally published, and edited into documentaries.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 3 June 2026
Reality check When Pocahontas sat for Van de Passe, his portrait did more than create a resemblance of the young woman, who would die the following year, soon after leaving London – felled either by disease or, as a Virginia tribe’s oral history suggests, poison.
—Peter C. Mancall, The Conversation, 25 May 2026
Years later, executive producer and writer Liz Sarnoff explained it in Vulture's oral history of the Lost finale.
—Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for oral history
Cite this Entry
“Oral history.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oral%20history. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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