Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A set of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers.
- noun An e-book or other electronic resource structured like a book.
- noun A printed or written literary work.
- noun A main division of a larger printed or written work.
- noun A volume in which financial or business transactions are recorded.
- noun Financial or business records considered as a group.
- noun A libretto.
- noun The script of a play.
- noun The Bible.
- noun The Koran.
- noun A set of prescribed standards or rules on which decisions are based.
- noun Something regarded as a source of knowledge or understanding.
- noun The total amount of experience, knowledge, understanding, and skill that can be used in solving a problem or performing a task.
- noun Informal Factual information, especially of a private nature.
- noun A pack of like or similar items bound together.
- noun A record of bets placed on a race.
- noun Games The number of card tricks needed before any tricks can have scoring value, as the first six tricks taken by the declaring side in bridge.
- intransitive verb To arrange for or purchase (tickets or lodgings, for example) in advance; reserve.
- intransitive verb To arrange a reservation, as for a hotel room, for (someone).
- intransitive verb To hire or engage.
- intransitive verb To list or register in a book.
- intransitive verb To list or record appointments or engagements in.
- intransitive verb To record information about (a suspected offender) after arrest in preparation for arraignment, usually including a criminal history search, fingerprinting, and photographing.
- intransitive verb Sports To record the flagrant fouls of (a player) for possible disciplinary action, as in soccer.
- intransitive verb To designate a time for; schedule.
- intransitive verb To be hired for or engaged in.
- intransitive verb To make a reservation.
- adjective Of or relating to knowledge learned from books rather than actual experience.
- adjective Appearing in a company's financial records.
- idiom (bring to book) To demand an explanation from; call to account.
- idiom (in (one's) book) In one's opinion.
- idiom (like a book) Thoroughly; completely.
- idiom (one for the books) A noteworthy act or occurrence.
- idiom (throw the book at) To make all possible charges against (a lawbreaker, for example).
- idiom (throw the book at) To reprimand or punish severely.
- intransitive verb Informal To move or travel rapidly.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A writing; a written instrument or document, especially one granting land; a deed.
- noun A treatise, written or printed on any material, and put together in any convenient form, as in the long parchment rolls of the Jews, in the bundles of bamboo tablets in use among the Chinese before the invention of paper, or in leaves of paper bound together, as is usual in modern times; a literary composition, especially one of considerable length, whether written or printed.
- noun Specifically, the Bible.
- noun A collection of written or printed sheets fastened or bound together, especially one larger than a pamphlet; a volume: as, this book is one of a set or series.
- noun A particular subdivision of a literary composition; one of the larger divisions used in classifying topics, periods, etc.
- noun Figuratively, anything that serves for the recording of facts or events: as, the book of Nature.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Invented quirky "compromise sales of your own book" tactic number three by recommending somebody else's book* entirely... this, to said group of American tourists after getting caught inhaling pages of
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Thus in the example, "John tore the leaves of Sarah's book," the distinction between _book_ which represents only one object and _leaves_ which represent two or more objects of the same kind is called _Number_; the distinction of sex between _John_, a male, and _Sarah_, a female, and
How to Speak and Write Correctly Joseph Devlin
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Similarly, in the sentence, _The book THAT I WANT is that red-backed history_, the restrictive relative clause is, _that I want_, and limits the application of _book_.
Practical Grammar and Composition Thomas Wood
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My sole reason for writing this book and placing it before the public is to call the public's attention to _another book_, wherein is contained the Christ truth, the understanding of which will free you from all your troubles.
The Pastor's Son William W. Walter
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No. At Nazareth, when he read his text in the book of Esaias, he _closed his book_, and discoursed to the people.
The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London
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The book contains all the essentials pertaining to the training and instruction of COMPANY officers, noncommissioned officers and privates, and the officer who masters its contents and who makes his COMPANY proficient in the subjects embodied herein, will be in every way qualified, _without the assistance of a single other book_, to command with credit and satisfaction, in peace and in war, a COMPANY that will be an
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Now, bookmen are capable of understanding things about books which cannot be put into words; they are not like mere subscribers to circulating libraries; for them a book is not just a book -- it is a _book_.
Mental Efficiency And Other Hints to Men and Women Arnold Bennett 1899
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It is striking to make the discovery that John's little book has _a distinctive message as a book_.
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Mr. Lowell himself is, in his verse-books, poetical, if not a poet -- and certainly this little book we are talking of is grateful enough in some ways -- you would call it a _pretty book_ -- would you not?
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846 Robert Browning 1850
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Book written in Heaven, too good for the Earth; as a well-written book, or indeed as a _book_ at all; and not a bewildered rhapsody;
Sartor Resartus, and On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History Thomas Carlyle 1838
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If, as they used to say, everyone has a book in them, AI has created a world where tech utopianists dream openly about excising the human part of writing a book — any amount of artistry or craft or even just sheer effort — and replacing it with machine-generated streams of text; as though putting in the labor of writing is a sucker’s game; as though caring whether or not what you’re reading is nonsense is only for elitists. The future is now, and it is filled with trash books that no one bothered to really write and that certainly no one wants to read. The saddest part about it, though, is that the garbage books don’t actually make that much money either. It’s even possible to lose money generating your low-quality ebook to sell on Kindle for $0.99. The way people make money these days is by teaching students the process of making a garbage ebook. It’s grift and garbage all the way down — and the people who ultimately lose out are the readers and writers who love books.
Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made. Constance Grady 2024
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If, as they used to say, everyone has a book in them, AI has created a world where tech utopianists dream openly about excising the human part of writing a book — any amount of artistry or craft or even just sheer effort — and replacing it with machine-generated streams of text; as though putting in the labor of writing is a sucker’s game; as though caring whether or not what you’re reading is nonsense is only for elitists. The future is now, and it is filled with trash books that no one bothered to really write and that certainly no one wants to read. The saddest part about it, though, is that the garbage books don’t actually make that much money either. It’s even possible to lose money generating your low-quality ebook to sell on Kindle for $0.99. The way people make money these days is by teaching students the process of making a garbage ebook. It’s grift and garbage all the way down — and the people who ultimately lose out are the readers and writers who love books.
Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made. Constance Grady 2024
mandarine commented on the word book
How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.
Henry David Thoreau
December 8, 2006
oroboros commented on the word book
The first book was printed in the 15th century. See Gutenberg Bible.
October 1, 2007
kewpid commented on the word book
cool
May 6, 2008
bookhling commented on the word book
I like books. Though I am not sure if I like the word book itself.... I think we need a new cool name to call books.
July 17, 2008
yarb commented on the word book
You could reverse it. Koob is pretty cool.
July 17, 2008
reesetee commented on the word book
How about pineapple? Pineapple is a good word.
July 22, 2008
bilby commented on the word book
Tome.
July 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word book
Penny Arcade (03/09/09):
"Book is the new wireless platform that never needs to be charged."
April 3, 2009
twingypsy commented on the word book
"A reader acts toward books as a citizen toward men; he does not live with all his contemporaries, he chooses a few friends." -Voltaire
May 1, 2009
oroboros commented on the word book
The world's thinnest book: The Amish Phone Directory...or, maybe, Spotted Owl Recipes by the EPA?
April 29, 2010
bilby commented on the word book
'The Wit and Wisdom of Australian Prime Ministers, 1901 to Present'.
April 29, 2010