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.

---

bibliography British  

/ 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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bibliographies
  plural

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

See Examples For:

bibliography bibliographies

Today, a student’s polished literature review or annotated bibliography alone can no longer demonstrate understanding to the professor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 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

In 2003 he took an African American art history class in graduate school, and when he tried to put together a bibliography, he found it difficult to find primary sources.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025

McMurtry’s life, like his bulging bibliography, is tough to get one’s arms around.

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2023

And bibliography has to do with books, not words.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

Mr Clearly told the AFP news agency: "I read the words Gibbet Hill and I knew that wasn't a Bram Stoker story that I had ever heard of in any of the biographies or bibliographies."

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2024

For the various genres I’m interested in, such as the ghost story and the detective novel, I long ago bought standard critical histories, then studied them closely, especially their bibliographies.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2022

She dove down a research rabbit hole for several years, “poring over footnotes and bibliographies… searching for breadcrumbs.”

From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2022

These reports can be beneficial at any research stage because they provide an overview, background, chronology, assessment of the current situation, tables and maps, pro/con statements from opposing positions, and bibliographies.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

“Okay,” said Miguel, “in here we’re gonna find General Knowledge. Almanacs, encyclopedias, bibliographies, books about library science...”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein