autobiography

noun

au·​to·​bi·​og·​ra·​phy ˌȯ-tə-bī-ˈä-grə-fē 

-bē-

plural autobiographies

: the biography of a person narrated by that person : a usually written account of a person's life in their own words

celebrity autobiographies

The fall and rise of Chrysler Corporation is an oft-told tale—three books on the subject have appeared already, including Lee Iacocca's bestselling autobiography.

—Jerry Flint

Frederick Douglass's autobiographies are invaluable both for what they reveal about antebellum slavery and for what they reveal about a remarkable American.

—Peter Kolchin

This last book … is part autobiography and part fiction, though it is listed as fiction.

—Mims Cushing

Some 400 crowded both floors of the bookstore and lined up around the block as Iggy [Pop] signed the entire stock of 200 copies of his autobiography "I Need More."

—Publishers Weekly

In recent years, the biggest-selling baseball books have been autobiographies of colorful personalities, written with the aid of collaborators.

—Ray Walters

The letters are arranged chronologically and episodically to form an autobiography.

—William S. McFeely

Examples of autobiography in a Sentence

I read her autobiography last year.

Recent Examples on the Web

The star then encouraged his followers to read Jones’s 2002 autobiography Q, and check out his 2018 Netflix documentary Quincy, which was directed by his daughter Rashida Jones. —Rachel Desantis, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Garr’s autobiography, titled Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood, was published in 2005. —Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2024

The chance discovery of Kempe’s autobiography speaks to the rich trove of writing about medieval women that survives to this day, as well as the countless works that have been lost over the centuries, Jackson says. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024

But these self-serving vehicles shouldn’t indict the larger genre of political autobiography. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

auto- + biography, perhaps after German Autobiographie

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing autobiography

• semi-autobiography

Kids Definition

autobiography

noun

au·​to·​bi·​og·​ra·​phy ˌȯt-ə-bī-ˈäg-rə-fē 

-bē-

: a biography written by the person it is about

autobiographer

-rə-fər 

noun

autobiographical

-ˌbī-ə-ˈgraf-i-kəl 

adjective

also autobiographic

-ˈgraf-ik 

autobiographically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb