literature

UK: /ˈlɪtrətʃə^r/

US: /ˈlɪtərətʃɚ, ˈlɪtrə-/

US: (lit′ər ə chər, -chŏŏr′, li′trə-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lit•er•a•ture /ˈlɪtərətʃɚ, ˈlɪtrə-/   n. [uncountable]

1. Literature writing in prose or poetry thought of as having permanent value or excellence.
2. Literature the entire body of writings of a specific language, period, people, etc.:
   French literature.
3. the writings dealing with a particular subject:
   the literature of biology.
4. any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills:
   company literature describing new products.

See -lit-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lit•er•a•ture  (lit′ər ə chər, -chŏŏr′, li′trə-), n. 

1. Literature writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.
2. Literature the entire body of writings of a specific language, period, people, etc.:
   the literature of England.
3. the writings dealing with a particular subject:
   the literature of ornithology.
4. Literature the profession of a writer or author.
5. Literature literary work or production.
6. any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills:
   literature describing company products.
7. [Archaic.] polite learning;
   literary culture;
   appreciation of letters and books.

• Latin litterātūra grammar. See literate, -ure
• late Middle English litterature 1375–1425

Synonyms

• 1. Literature, belles-
  lettres, letters refer to artistic writings worthy of being remembered. In the broadest sense,
  literature includes any type of writings on any subject:
  the literature of medicine;
  
  usually, however, it means the body of artistic writings of a country or period that are characterized by beauty of expression and form and by universality of intellectual and emotional appeal:
  English literature of the 16th century.
  Belles-
  lettres is a more specific term for writings of a light, elegant, or excessively refined character:
  His talent is not for scholarship but for belles-lettres.
  Letters (rare today outside of certain fixed phrases) refers to literature as a domain of study or creation:
  a man of letters.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

literature / ˈlɪtərɪtʃə ˈlɪtrɪ-/ noun

1. written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc, esp works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest
2. the body of written work of a particular culture or people: Scandinavian literature
3. written or printed matter of a particular type or on a particular subject: scientific literature, the literature of the violin
4. printed material giving a particular type of information: sales literature
5. the art or profession of a writer

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin litterātūra writing; see letter