book

noun, verb — 30 senses

book

noun

AU, US, UK /bʊk/ · UK /bɵk/

Etymology

From Middle English bok, book, from Old English bōc, from Proto-West Germanic *bōk, from Proto-Germanic *bōks. Bookmaker sense by clipping. Cognates Cognate with Scots beuk, buik, buke (“book”), Yola buke (“book”), North Frisian Bok, buk, bök (“book”), Saterland Frisian Bouk (“book”), West Frisian, Dutch boek (“book”), Alemannic German Buech (“book”), Bavarian Buach (“book”), Central Franconian Booch, Buch (“book”), German, Luxembourgish Buch (“book”), German Low German Book (“book”), Limburgish book, Bouk (“book”), Vilamovian büch (“book”), Yiddish בוך (bukh, “book”), Danish bog (“book”), Elfdalian buok (“book”), Faroese, Icelandic bók (“book”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish bok (“book”).

21 senses
  1. 1A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge…
  2. 2A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such…
  3. 3A major division of a long work.
  4. 4A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to…
  5. 5A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events…
  6. 6A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of…
  7. 7The script of a musical or opera.
  8. 8Records of the accounts of a business.
  9. 9A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest…
  10. 10Six tricks taken by one side.
  11. 11Four of a kind.
  12. 12A document, held by the referee, of the incidents that…
  13. 13A list of all players who have been booked (received a…
  14. 14The list of mares that a stallion will breed in a given season.
  15. 15A list of the races that a jockey is scheduled to ride in.
  16. 16The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.
  17. 17Any source of instruction.
  18. 18The accumulated body of knowledge passed down among black pimps.
  19. 19A portfolio of one's previous work in the industry.
  20. 20The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.
  21. 21A package of silk.
1

A collection of sheets of paper bound together to hinge at one edge, containing printed or written material, pictures, etc.

  • Knowing I lou'd my bookes, he furniſhd me / From mine owne Library, with volumes, that / I prize aboue my Dukedome.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 3, column 1:
  • I repeat: it suffices that a book be possible for it to exist. Only the impossible is excluded. For example: no book can be a ladder, although no doubt there are books which discuss and negate and demonstrate this possibility and others whose structure corresponds to that of a ladder.1962, Luis Borges, translated by James East Irby, The Library of Babel:
4 more examples
  • I can be anything. Take a look! It's in a book: A reading rainbow.1983, Steve Horelick et al., Reading Rainbow:
  • Trefusis's quarters could be described in one word. Books. Books and books and books. And then, just when an observer might be lured into thinking that that must be it, more books... Trefusis himself was highly dismissive of them. ‘Waste of trees,’ he had once said. ‘Stupid, ugly, clumsy, heavy things. The sooner technology comes up with a reliable alternative the better... The world is so fond of saying that books should be “treated with respect”. But when are we told that words should be treated with respect?’1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, page 51:
  • She opened the book to page 37 and began to read aloud.
  • He was frustrated because he couldn't find anything about dinosaurs in the book.
2

A long work fit for publication, typically prose, such as a novel or textbook, and typically published as such a bound collection of sheets, but now sometimes electronically as an e-book.

  • I have three copies of his first book.
  • “I would never read a book,” he once told an interviewer. “I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that.”2022 December 6, Stephen Marche, quoting Sam Bankman-Fried, “The College Essay Is Dead”, in The Atlantic:
1 more example
  • They read some books Sharing their moods They know everything Whatever it can mean2025 July 19, Pacifik, “Freethinker”, in Wonderfool, performed by Pacifik:
3

A major division of a long work.

  • Genesis is the first book of the Bible.
  • Many readers find the first book of A Tale of Two Cities to be confusing.
4

Gambling, Games A record of betting (from the use of a notebook to record what each person has bet).

  • I'm running a book on who is going to win the race.
5

Informal A bookmaker (a person who takes bets on sporting events and similar); bookie; turf accountant.

6

A convenient collection, in a form resembling a book, of small paper items for individual use.

  • a book of stamps
  • a book of raffle tickets
1 more example
  • a book of matches (matchbook)
7

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Theater The script of a musical or opera.

  • The guild helps ensure that the ownership and control of the music, lyrics, and book of a show remain in the hands of its authors and composers—not the producers.2010, David Baskerville, Tim Baskerville, Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, page 172:
8

Plural normally Records of the accounts of a business.

9

Law Colloquial A book award, a recognition for receiving the highest grade in a class (traditionally an actual book, but recently more likely a letter or certificate acknowledging the achievement).

10

Six tricks taken by one side.

11

Card games, Poker Slang Four of a kind.

12

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A document, held by the referee, of the incidents that happened in a game.

13

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Broadly A list of all players who have been booked (received a warning) in a game.

  • Celtic captain Scott Brown joined team-mate Majstorovic in the book and Rangers' John Fleck was also shown a yellow card as an ill-tempered half drew to a close.2011 March 2, Andy Campbell, “Celtic 1 - 0 Rangers”, in BBC:
14

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports The list of mares that a stallion will breed in a given season.

15

Hobbies, Horse racing, Horseracing, Horses, Lifestyle, Pets, Racing, Sports A list of the races that a jockey is scheduled to ride in.

16

Cartomancy, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences The twenty-sixth Lenormand card.

17

Figuratively Any source of instruction.

18

With definite article The accumulated body of knowledge passed down among black pimps.

  • The Book is an oral tradition of belief in The Life that has been passed down from player to player from generation to generation.1974, Adrienne Lanier Seward, The Black Pimp as a Folk Hero, page 11:
  • On the other hand The Book is an oral tradition containing the rules and principles to be adopted by a pimp who wishes to be a player.1994, Antiquarian Book Monthly, volume 21, page 36:
19

Advertising, Business, Marketing Informal A portfolio of one's previous work in the industry.

  • Getting your book (portfolio) organised is the first step, and knowing both what to include, and what to leave out, is an essential step towards achieving that important agency placement.2017, Nik Mahon, Basics Advertising 02: Art Direction, page 8:
  • Your portfolio — your book — has to be killer.Idea Industry (page 27)
20

Board games, Chess, Games The sum of chess knowledge in the opening or endgame.

  • The opposite-colored bishops endgame is usually a book draw.
  • A book move
3 more examples
  • out of book
  • White to move and win. How can he do it? The BK plans a march to h8, eating the f4 pawn en route, for a book draw.2018 April 6, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Schoolboy Vincent Keymer secures shock triumph at Grenke Open”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2023:
  • This seems certain to simplify into a battle between White's king, rook and two pawns against Black's king and rook. In some cases a book draw is possible. But a book win is more likely.2020, Andrew Soltis, How to Swindle in Chess, Batsford Books, →ISBN:
21

Historical A package of silk.

  • This machinery was provided with a rotary drum with received upon its periphery the "books" of silk to be operated upon and presented them to travelling, combing, or dressing surfaces. The books were clamped and released automatically by the aid of bars formed with wedges and put in operation by screws […]1867, John I. Knight, Mechanics Magazine, page 52:
Synonyms
book
Antonyms
antibook, nonbook
Derived terms
337 termsabsey-book, audio-book, back of the book, blook, blot one's copy book, blue book exam, book account, book agent, bookaholic, bookalike, book-answerer, book award, bookazine, book bag, book-bearer, book bin, bookbinder, bookbindery, bookbinding, bookboard, book board, book-bosomed, book-bound, book bowel, book bowel tendency, book-boy, bookbuild, book-building, book-burner, book-burning, book burning, bookbus, book canvasser, bookcase, bookception, bookchest, book-cloth, book club, book concern, book-crab, bookcraft, book credit, bookcross, book deal, bookdealer, book-debt, book debt, book discussion group, bookdom, book drop, book dumping, book-edge gilder, book-edge marbler, book-end, bookend, book end, book entry, booker, bookery, booketeria, book fair, book-farmer, bookfell, bookflap, book folder, book form, bookful, book-ghoul, book gill, book group, book hand, bookhoard, book-holder, bookholder, bookhood, bookhound, bookhouse, book-hunt, bookhunter, bookie, bookish, bookism, bookist, bookjacket, book-keep, bookkeeper, book-keeper, book-keeping, bookkeeping, book keeping, book-knowledge, book knowledge, book label, bookland, Bookland, book-lare, book law, book-lear, book-learned, book learning, book-learning, booklegger, booklegging, book-length, bookless, booklet, booklift, booklight, booklike, booklined, bookling, booklist, book-lore, booklore, book lore, booklouse, book lover, booklover, Booklr, book-lung, book lung, bookly, bookmaker, bookmaking, bookman, bookmark, bookmarker, book-match, bookmatch, bookmate, book-minded, book-mindedness, book mite, bookmobile, bookmonger, book muslin, bookname, booknap, bookness, book nook, book number, book-number, book oath, book of business, book of condolence, book of first entry, book of hours, book of lading, book of nature, book of original entry, book of prime entry, book of rates, book of reference, book of shadows, book of the film, book of words, book packet, book piles, bookplate, book pocket, book post, book postage, bookpress, book price, book prop, bookrack, book rate, book-read, book-reader, book reading, book-reading, book report, bookrest, book return, book-ridden, bookright, bookroll, bookroom, bookrunner, bookrunning, book sales club, bookscape, book-scorpion, book scorpion, bookseller, bookselling, bookshelf, bookshelving, bookshop, book shop, book-shy, booksie, book-signing, book signing, book-slide, book-smart, book smart, book society, booksona, bookstack, bookstaff, Bookstagram, bookstall, book stamp, book-stamp, bookstand, bookstave, book steak, bookstop, book store, bookstore, book stuffing, book support, booksy, book-table, book table, book talk, booktastic, book-teaching, Bookternet, BookTok, book-token, book token, book tour, book town, book trade, book-tray, book trough, BookTube, booktuber, book type, book value, bookwards, bookware, book-ways, bookwheel, bookwise, book-wise, book-word, book word, bookwork, book world, bookworm, book worm, bookwright, book-wright, bookwriting, booky, bring to book, by-book, by the book, by-the-book, call someone every name in the book, case-book, closed-book, close the book on, close the books, commonplace-book, cook the books, cost-book, crack a book, don't judge a book by its cover, emblem-book, every trick in the book, field-book, for the book, have more chins than a Chinese phone book, hold the book, hymn-book, in anyone's book, in book, in my book, in one's book, in someone's bad books, in someone's good books, in the books, judge a book by its cover, keep the book, kiss the book, know every trick in the book, know like a book, log-book, look book, lookbook, look-out book, mag book, make a book, make book, mook, multibook, muster-book, never judge a book by its cover, off-book, off book, off the books, on book, on the book, on the books, open-book, open-book contract, open book decomposition, out-book, out of book, phrase-book, pocket-book, prebook, read like a book, read like an open book, regie-book, rip a page out of someone's book, rough-book, rule-book, said-bookism, share book, speak like a book, stud-book, suit one's book, take a leaf out of someone's book, take a page out of someone's book, tale-book, talk like a book, text-book, the oldest trick in the book, this is a book, throw the book at, time-book, turnip for the book, turn up for the book, turn-up for the book, vook, why buy a book when you can join a library, why buy a book when you can join the library, without book, write the book, year-book, you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't tell a book by its cover
Related terms
incunable, scroll, tome, volume, 📚, document, text, manuscript
Hypernyms
publication, writing
Hyponyms
375 termsABC book, absey book, account book, activity book, address book, airport book, alphabet book, American comic book, artbook, audio book, audiobook, autograph book, baby book, bankbook, bath book, beach book, birthday book, block book, blue book, bluebook, board book, Book of Concord, Book of God, Book of Life, Book of the Dead, Book of the Living, brag book, brand book, Bread Book, burn book, busy book, callbook, case book, casebook, cashbook, chapter book, chartbook, checkbook, cheque book, chequebook, classbook, clipbook, closed book, codebook, coffee table book, coffee-table book, coloring book, colouring book, comic book, commonplace book, composition book, cook book, cookbook, cookery book, copybook, coursebook, courtesy book, crossover book, cyberbook, databook, datebook, day book, daybook, death book, deathbook, deskbook, dope book, Dutch book, e-book, eBook, ebook, edited book, electronic book, emblem book, exercise book, facebook, factbook, fairybook, fake book, field book, finger prayer book, flick book, flip book, flybook, forebook, form book, formbook, friendship book, fuck book, funny book, gamebook, giftbook, gold book, good book, Good Book, green book, guard book, guest book, guide book, guidebook, handbook, herdbook, history book, hollow book, holobook, Holy Book, hornbook, hymn book, hymnbook, hyperbook, jestbook, Jo-Jo book, joke book, landbook, lawbook, letterbook, little black book, log book, logbook, magazine book, matchbook, megabook, midbook, mug book, murder book, namebook, needlebook, newsbook, note book, notebook, open book, opening book, order book, outbook, outclearing book, paper book, passbook, pattern book, paybook, pension book, phone book, phonebook, photobook, phrase book, phrasebook, picture book, pillowbook, pitchbook, playbook, pocket book, pocketbook, poison book, poll book, pop-up book, prayer book, prompt book, promptbook, psalmbook, quizbook, quotebook, racebook, rag book, ration book, reading book, recipe book, record book, red book, reference book, rhyme book, rime book, roadbook, rough book, rule book, rulebook, run book, runbook, rune book, salesbook, school book, schoolbook, scientibook, scorebook, scrap book, scrapbook, scriptbook, service book, set book, shopbook, sketch book, sketchbook, skybook, slam book, slambook, small book, song book, songbook, sourcebook, spellbook, splat book, splatbook, sportsbook, squawk book, statute book, sticker book, stockbook, storybook, stroke book, stud book, stylebook, tablebook, talebook, talking book, telephone book, textbook, Tillie and Mac book, time book, timebook, toilet book, trade book, travel book, truth book, tunebook, tunnel book, ultrabook, videobook, viewbook, visitors' book, visitor's book, wastebook, webbook, winter book, wishbook, Wizard Book, wordbook, workbook, yardage book, yearbook, ABC, abecedarium, abecedary, absey, airport novel, anthology, antinovel, autobiography, battledore, benchbook, bentsher, bibelot, bible, bildungsroman, biography, black book, blognovel, blook, bodice ripper, bonkbuster, booklet, bookling, book of condolence, book of hours, book of original entry, box set, breviary, canon, catechism, chapbook, codex, consuetudinary, cost-book, coucher, cyclopaedia, cybernovel, diary, dictionary, dime novel, dispensatory, diurnal, doorstop, doorstopper, duodecimo, employee handbook, enchiridion, encyclopedia, e-novel, epical, e-textbook, exemplar, exemplary, facetiae, festschrift, fifteener, folio, floater, gradual, grail, graphic novel, grimoire, grip-lit, hardback, historical novel, holonovel, horologion, horologium, hypernovel, hysterical historical, incunable, incunabulum, interpreter, I-novel, irmologion, Kitab al-Azif, Künstlerroman, lexicon, liber, light novel, lookbook, meganovel, monograph, Necronomicon, nonfiction novel, novel, novella, novelette, octavo, octodecimo, onomasticon, opisthograph, pandect, paperback, peerage, penny dreadful, pharmacopoeia, photo album, photonovel, pocket edition, portass, primer, quadragesimo-octavo, quarto, reader, reading copy, receptary, responsorial, roman à clef, roman à tiroirs, sacramentary, sensation novel, sexagesimo-quarto, sexto, sextodecimo, sharecropper, silver fork novel, songster, style manual, synonymicon, telenovel, thesaurus, tome, travel guide, trigesimo-secundo, trunk novel, turn-up, twelvemo, Twitter novel, twovel, typikon, vade mecum, vesperal, vicesimo-quarto, virginale, volume, webnovel, wordhoard, yellowback
Holonyms
library, literature
Meronyms
binding, cover, endpaper, front page, leaf, page, front matter, body matter, back matter, article, chapter, entry, module, part, section, unit, clause, paragraph, passage, head, verse

book

verb
Etymology

Etymology tree Old English bōcian Middle English booken English book From Middle English booken, boken, from Old English bōcian, ġebōcian, from the noun (see above).

9 senses
  1. 1To reserve (something) for future use.
  2. 2To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.
  3. 3To add a name to the list of people who are participating…
  4. 4To record the name and other details of a suspected…
  5. 5To issue a caution to, usually a yellow card, or a red…
  6. 6To travel very fast.
  7. 7To record bets as bookmaker.
  8. 8To receive the highest grade in a class.
  9. 9To move or leave, often hurriedly and abruptly.
1

To reserve (something) for future use.

  • I want to book a hotel room for tomorrow night.
  • I can book tickets for the concert next week.
1 more example
  • I haven't booked, so I don't have a clue as to whether the service will be busy or not. Supposedly, reservations are compulsory, but I want to find out what would happen if you just turn up.2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:
2

To write down, to register or record in a book or as in a book.

  • They booked that message from the hill.
3

To add a name to the list of people who are participating in something.

  • I booked a flight to New York.
4

Government, Law enforcement To record the name and other details of a suspected offender and the offence for later judicial action.

  • The police booked him for driving too fast.
5

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To issue a caution to, usually a yellow card, or a red card if a yellow card has already been issued.

6

Slang To travel very fast.

  • He was really booking until he passed the speed trap.
7

To record bets as bookmaker.

8

To receive the highest grade in a class.

Law student slang

  • The top three students had a bet on which one was going to book their intellectual property class.
9

Slang To move or leave, often hurriedly and abruptly.

  • He was here earlier, but he booked.
Derived terms
block-book, bookable, book away, book in, booking, book into, book off, book on, book up, double-book, overbook, rebook, unbook, underbook

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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