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library
(laɪbrəri, US -breri)
Word forms: plural libraries
1. countable noun
A public library is a building where things such as books, newspapers, videos, and music are kept for people to read, use, or borrow.
...the local library.
She issued them library cards.
2. countable noun
A private library is a collection of things such as books or music, that is normally only used with the permission of the owner.
My thanks go to the British School of Osteopathy, for the use of their library.
3. countable noun
In some large houses the library is the room where most of the books are kept.
Guests were rarely entertained in the library.
library in British English
(ˈlaɪbrərɪ)
nounWord forms: plural -braries
1.
a room or set of rooms where books and other literary materials are kept
2.
a collection of literary materials, films, CDs, children's toys, etc, kept for borrowing or reference
3.
the building or institution that houses such a collection
a public library
4.
a set of books published as a series, often in a similar format
5. computing
a collection of standard programs and subroutines for immediate use, usually stored on disk or some other storage device
6.
a collection of specific items for reference or checking against
a library of genetic material
Word origin
C14: from Old French librairie, from Medieval Latin librāris, n use of Latin librārius relating to books, from liber booklibrary in American English
(ˈlaɪˌbrɛri; laɪbrəri; also, though usually regarded as nonstandard, ˈlaɪbəri)
nounWord forms: plural ˈliˌbraries
1.
a.
a collection of books, periodicals, musical scores, films, phonograph records, etc., esp. a large, systematically arranged collection for reading or reference
b.
a room or building where such a collection is kept
2.
a public or private institution in charge of the care and circulation of such a collection
3.
a set or series of books issued in a single format by a publishing house
4.
any collection of things that is organized for a particular purpose
a software library
Word origin
ME librarie < OFr < libraire, copyist < L librarius, n., transcriber of books, adj., of books < liber, a book, orig. inner bark or rind of a tree (which was written on) < IE base *leubh-, to peel off > leaf, Gr lepein, to strip off rindCOBUILD Collocationslibrary
vast library
Image oflibrary
© fortovik, shutterstock
Examples of 'library' in a sentencelibrary
In other languageslibrary
British English: library /ˈlaɪbrərɪ/ NOUN
A public library is a building where things such as books, newspapers, videos, and music are kept for people to read, use, or borrow.
...the local library.
- American English: library
- Arabic: مَكْتَبَةٌ
- Brazilian Portuguese: biblioteca
- Chinese: 图书馆
- Croatian: knjižnica
- Czech: knihovna instituce
- Danish: bibliotek
- Dutch: bibliotheek
- European Spanish: biblioteca
- Finnish: kirjasto
- French: bibliothèque emprunt de livres
- German: Bibliothek
- Greek: βιβλιοθήκη
- Italian: biblioteca
- Japanese: 図書館
- Korean: 도서관
- Norwegian: bibliotek
- Polish: biblioteka
- European Portuguese: biblioteca
- Romanian: bibliotecă
- Russian: библиотека
- Latin American Spanish: biblioteca
- Swedish: bibliotek
- Thai: ห้องสมุด
- Turkish: kütüphane
- Ukrainian: бібліотека
- Vietnamese: thư viện
Chinese translation of 'library'
library
(ˈlaɪbrərɪ)
n (c)
- (public)
图(圖)书(書)馆(館)
(túshūguǎn) (个(個), gè) - (in private house)
书(書)斋(齋)
(shūzhāi) - (= private collection)
收藏
(shōucáng)
- radioland
- radiolarian
- radio link
- radiolocation
- radiolocational
- radiological
- radiologically
- radiologist
- radiology
- radiolucency
- radiolucent
- radioluminescence
- radioluminescent
- radiolysis
- radiolytic
- radioman
- radio mast
- radio message
- radiometeorograph
- radiometer
- radiometric
- radiometrically
- radiometric dating
- radiometry
- radiomicrometer