Meaning & use

encyclopedia

noun·Academic

A reference work containing articles on a wide range of subjects, or on many aspects of one subject.

See it in a sentence

She looked up the country's history in an old encyclopedia at the library.

The children's encyclopedia explained the solar system with colorful diagrams.

A note on using this word

Modern encyclopedias, such as online ones, are often continually updated rather than published as fixed print volumes.

Words with a similar meaning

reference book

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