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

Stephen Thibeault told the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training in an oral history interview. —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026

Malik’s co-author, Renae Wilson, developed recipes in the book using historical records, oral histories and historic cookbooks. —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026

Widmer learned all this in early 2024 when Weil called and invited him to compile the oral history into a book. —Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 17 Feb. 2026

Not the Only One was based on a dataset of 40,000 lines of extra data beyond the oral histories, which is very small, so the piece is very wonky. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for oral history

• ethnohistory
• consistory
• mystery