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library

noun

Simple meaning

A building filled with books and other materials to borrow

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lybruhree

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlaɪbɹɛɹi

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study

  2. A building that houses a collection of books and other materials

  3. A collection of books or other forms of stored information.

  4. An institution which holds books and/or other forms of media for use by the public or qualified people often lending them out, as well as providing various other services for its users.

  5. by extension

    Any institution that lends out its goods for use by the public or a community.

  6. An equivalent collection of analogous information in a non-printed form, e.g. record library.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study

Used this way, library is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • depository library , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use library

  • “They had brandy in the library.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Depository / building

library journal

Institution

public libraryschool librarylibrary service

Other combinations

library scienceamerican librarylibrary associationstate library

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • library finenounCompound term

    Fine imposed by a library on books that overdue when returned.

  • library pastenounCompound term

    An adhesive made from water and flour or starch.

  • library programnounCompound term

    A program in a program library.

  • library routinenounCompound term

    A debugged routine that is maintained in a program library.

  • library sciencenounCompound term

    The study of the principles and practices of library administration.

  • library cardnounCompound term

    A card certifying the bearer's right to use the library.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • librariannounRelated term

    A professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study

depository libraryRare

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.