biography
noun
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So You've Been Asked to Submit a Biography
In a library, the word biography refers both to a kind of book and to a section where books of that kind are found. Each biography tells the story of a real person's life. A biography may be about someone who lived long ago, recently, or even someone who is still living, though in the last case it must necessarily be incomplete. The term autobiography refers to a biography written by the person it's about. Autobiographies are of course also necessarily incomplete.
Sometimes biographies are significantly shorter than a book—something anyone who's been asked to submit a biography for, say, a conference or a community newsletter will be glad to know. Often the word in these contexts is shortened to bio, a term that can be both a synonym of biography and a term for what is actually a biographical sketch: a brief description of a person's life. These kinds of biographies—bios—vary, but many times they are only a few sentences long. Looking at bios that have been used in the same context can be a useful guide in determining what to put in your own.
Examples of biography in a Sentence
Paul Elie, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Jeanette Winter, who pioneered picture book biographies for children, died on November 7 at the age of 86.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
In the biography Catherine, the Princess of Wales, author Robert Jobson claimed that the King, 77, and Prince William got into a disagreement about the safety of William flying his family in a helicopter.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
The performance earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination, reframing his turbulent life as a kind of method biography.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for biography
Cite this Entry
“Biography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biography. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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biography
noun
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