bibliography

American  

[bib-lee-og-ruh-fee] / ˌbɪb liˈɒg rə fi /

noun

bibliographies plural

1. a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.

2. a list of source materials that are used or consulted in the preparation of a work or that are referred to in the text.

3. a branch of library science dealing with the history, physical description, comparison, and classification of books and other works.

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bibliography British  

/ ˌbɪblɪəʊˈɡræfɪk, ˌbɪblɪˈɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. a list of books or other material on a subject

2. a list of sources used in the preparation of a book, thesis, etc

3. a list of the works of a particular author or publisher

4. 1. the study of the history, classification, etc, of literary material

   2. a work on this subject

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bibliography Cultural  

1. A list of the written sources of information on a subject. Bibliographies generally appear as a list at the end of a book or article. They may show what works the author used in writing the article or book, or they may list works that a reader might find useful.

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Other Word Forms

• bibliographer
  noun
• bibliographic
  adjective
• bibliographical
  adjective
• bibliographically
  adverb
• minibibliography
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bibliography

From the Greek word bibliographía, dating back to 1670–80. See biblio-, -graphy

Explanation

A bibliography is a list of writings by an author, such as the lengthy bibliography of Joyce Carol Oates, or a list of writings someone uses in a project, like the bibliography at the end of a research paper. Bibliography comes from the Greek word biblio, or "book," and graphos, which is "something written or drawn." So, a bibliography is made when someone writes a list of books or other written works. You may have included a bibliography with a research paper you have written, to give credit to your sources. However, due to the popularity of using internet sources instead of books these days, some writers prefer "Works Cited" over "Bibliography."

Example Sentences

“Love and Death in the American Novel” made its case without bothering with notes or bibliography, yet garnered praise from such eminent critics as Lionel Trilling and George Steiner.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

“You have to have a certain number of photos, a nice range of topics, and a bibliography, though they don’t care if that’s in the book or on a website somewhere,” Brown explained.

From Slate • Nov. 3, 2025

There’s the obvious proof: a detailed glossary, and a notes and bibliography section that runs over 30 pages.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025

So I respond by handing the student a bibliography!

From Salon • Nov. 15, 2022

When Henige wrote Numbers from Nowhere, the fight about pre- Columbian population had already consumed forests’ worth of trees—his bibliography is ninety pages long.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann