Encyclopedia citation generator
Cite any encyclopedia entry, online or in print, in any citation style.
or fill in the details below
How to cite an encyclopedia entry
An encyclopedia citation takes three steps.
Step 1
Paste the entry’s link
We fill in the entry, its author and the encyclopedia. For the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy we use its own citation, with the archived edition and permanent link.
Step 2
Choose online or print
Online entries give the URL and, if they aren’t dated, the date you read them. Print entries give the edition, volume and page.
Step 3
Copy your citation
Add the reference entry to your list and use the in-text citation in your paper.
How to cite an encyclopedia entry in APA
APA gives the author, the date, the entry’s title, then In and the encyclopedia in italics. An undated entry that can change gets a retrieval date.
Format
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of entry. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of encyclopedia (xx ed.). Publisher. URL
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Graham, G. (2023). Behaviorism. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Spring 2023 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/behaviorism/
Undated, with a retrieval date
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (n.d.). Antisemitism. In Holocaust encyclopedia. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/antisemitism
Print, no author
Patanjali. (1996). In B. Murphy (Ed.), Benét’s reader’s encyclopedia (4th ed., p. 782). HarperCollins Publishers.
In-text citation
Parenthetical: (Graham, 2023)
Narrative: Graham (2023)
How to cite an encyclopedia entry in MLA
MLA gives the author if the entry is signed, the entry’s title in quotation marks, the encyclopedia in italics, the date and the URL. It leaves out a publisher with the same name as the encyclopedia.
Britannica
Southam, Brian C. “Jane Austen: English Novelist.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 13 Oct. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Austen.
MLA’s own example.
“Patanjali.” Benét’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, edited by Bruce Murphy, 4th ed., HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p. 782.
MLA’s own example. Print entries give the page even when the entries are in alphabetical order.
How to cite an encyclopedia entry in Chicago
Chicago cites well-known encyclopedias in notes only, with the entry’s author and the date it was last updated. The 18th edition no longer uses s.v.
Footnote
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Jane Austen: English Novelist,” by Brian C. Southam, last updated October 13, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Austen.
A scholarly encyclopedia, in the bibliography
Graham, George. “Behaviorism.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Spring 2023 ed., edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, January 13, 2023. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/behaviorism/.
A signed entry in an edited encyclopedia can go in the bibliography like a chapter in a book.
Britannica, Wikipedia and dictionaries
Three questions students ask.
Britannica
Britannica turns automated readers away, so we fill in the entry’s name from its link. Add the author and the Last updated date from the page.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia has its own rules, like a permanent link to the version you read. Use the Wikipedia citation generator.
A definition
Citing a word’s meaning? Use the dictionary citation generator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite Britannica in APA?
Give the entry’s author if it names one, the date it was updated, the entry’s title, In Encyclopaedia Britannica in italics and the URL.
How do I cite the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy?
Paste the entry’s link. We use the SEP’s own citation: the archived edition, like Spring 2023, its editors and the permanent archive link.
What if the entry has no author?
Start with the entry’s title. In APA it moves to the author position; in MLA the entry starts with it anyway.
When do I need a retrieval date?
In APA, only for an undated online entry that can change. A dated or archived entry doesn’t need one.
Can I cite an encyclopedia in Chicago’s bibliography?
Well-known encyclopedias go in notes only. A signed entry in a specialized, edited encyclopedia can go in the bibliography.
Is this encyclopedia citation generator free?
Yes. It’s free with no signup, and your citations go into the same list as the main Citation Generator.