life story

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An account of all the important events in a person's life, spoken or written.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a life story' or 'their life stories'. It often follows 'tell' or 'write'.

   Patterns

   • tell someone your life story
   • write a life story
   • someone's life story

   She told me her life story over coffee.

   He is writing his life story for his grandchildren.

   The documentary tells the life story of a famous musician.

2. 2nouncountable

   The whole set of experiences that make up a person's life, seen as a story.

   Grammar: Often used with 'whole' or 'entire' to emphasize completeness: his whole life story.

   Patterns

   • someone's whole life story
   • the life story of someone

   I don't need your whole life story — just tell me what happened today.

   Her life story is one of struggle and success.

Word forms

Common combinations

tell your life story

He loves to tell his life story to anyone who will listen.

write a life story

She spent two years writing her life story.

someone's whole life story

I don't want to hear his whole life story right now.

the life story of

The book is the life story of a nurse in the war.

Synonyms and how they differ

biography

This is a formal written account of someone's life, usually by another person; 'life story' is more personal and can be spoken.

memoir

This is a written account of part of your own life, often focusing on a theme; 'life story' covers the whole life.

Word family

life noun

The period between birth and death, or the state of being alive.

story noun

A description of events, real or imagined.

life-story adjective

Used before a noun, as in 'life-story interview'.

Commonly confused: life story or life history?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “life story”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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