library

noun li·brary \ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē, -ˌbre-rē; British usually & US sometimes -brər-ē; US sometimes -brē, ÷-ˌber-ē, -ˌbe-rē\

: a place where books, magazines, and other materials (such as videos and musical recordings) are available for people to use or borrow

: a room in a person's house where books are kept

: a collection of similar things (such as books or recordings)

plural li·brar·ies

Full Definition of LIBRARY

a : a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale

b : a collection of such materials

a : a collection resembling or suggesting a library

b : morgue 2

a : a series of related books issued by a publisher

b : a collection of publications on the same subject

: a collection of cloned DNA fragments that are maintained in a suitable cellular environment and that usually represent the genetic material of a particular organism or tissue

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See library defined for kids

Usage Discussion of LIBRARY

While the pronunciation \ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē\ is the most frequent variant in the United States, the other variants are not uncommon. The contraction \ˈlī-brē\ and the dissimilated form \ˈlī-ˌber-ē\ result from the relative difficulty of repeating \r\ in the same syllable or successive syllables; our files contain citations for these variants from educated speakers, including college presidents and professors, as well as with somewhat greater frequency from less educated speakers.

Origin of LIBRARY

Middle English, from Anglo-French librarie, Medieval Latin librarium, from Latin, neuter of librarius of books, from libr-, liber inner bark, rind, book

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to LIBRARY

Synonyms: archive

Rhymes with LIBRARY

baneberry, barberry, bayberry, bearberry, bilberry, blackberry, black cherry, blaeberry, blueberry, Bradbury, bunchberry, Burberry, canary, chokeberry, chokecherry, cloudberry, contrary, costmary, cowberry, cranberry, crowberry, deerberry, equerry, gooseberry, ground-cherry, hackberry, Hail Mary, inkberry, Juneberry, knobkerrie, mulberry, nondairy, pokeberry, primary, raspberry, rosemary, scalare, shadberry, snowberry, soapberry, strawberry, summary, sweet cherry, teaberry, tilbury, tooth fairy, twinberry, unwary, vagary, wheat berry, wolfberry, youngberry

LIBRARY Defined for Kids

library

noun li·brary \ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē\

plural li·brar·ies

Definition of LIBRARY for Kids

: a place where literary or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but are not for sale

: a collection of literary or reference materials <They have a large personal library.>

Medical Dictionary

library

noun li·brary \ˈlī-ˌbrer-ē\

plural li·brar·ies

Medical Definition of LIBRARY

: a collection of cloned DNA fragments that are maintained in a suitable cellular environment and that represent the genetic material of a particular organism or tissue <inserting segments from a library of human DNA into yeast cells—Science News>

Learn More About LIBRARY

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "library"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "library"

Nglish: Translation of "library" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "library" for Arabic speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "library"

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