On this page
Updated . Example details checked against britannica.com/science/sleep.
The MLA format
Pattern
“Title of Entry.” Name of Encyclopedia, Day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.
- Unsigned entries start with the entry title.
- Signed entries start with the author.
- Publisher is left out when it shares the encyclopedia’s name.
- Access date when the entry shows no date.
A real example
Works Cited entry
“Sleep.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/science/sleep. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
In-text citation
(“Sleep”)
When details are missing
- No date: end with the access date.
- Print: give the edition, volume, publisher, year and pages instead of the URL.
Common mistakes
- The encyclopedia in quotation marks. The work is italic; the entry is quoted.
- Wikipedia without a date. Wikipedia entries show a last-edited date; use it, and check whether your instructor accepts Wikipedia at all.
Or let Format do it.
Choose Encyclopedia or dictionary entry and fill in the entry, the encyclopedia, any author, the date and the link. Format writes the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation in MLA 9, exactly as shown above, and builds the Works Cited page when you export to Word or PDF. MLA and APA are free.
Questions
How do I cite a dictionary definition?
The same way: “Sleep.” Merriam-Webster, URL.
Is Britannica’s byline an author?
If the entry names a writer, start with that person. When the only credit is the encyclopedia’s own editors, the author and publisher are the same, so MLA starts with the title, as here.
More citation guides
Similar sources in MLA
Every source kind is on the MLA page, and every style is on How to cite.