BOOK

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Book mean? 

• BOOK (noun)
  The noun BOOK has 11 senses:

1. a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)

2. physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together

3. a compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone

4. a written version of a play or other dramatic composition; used in preparing for a performance

5. a record in which commercial accounts are recorded

6. a collection of playing cards satisfying the rules of a card game

7. a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made

8. the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

9. the sacred writings of the Christian religions

10. a major division of a long written composition

11. a number of sheets (ticket or stamps etc.) bound together on one edge

  Familiarity information: BOOK used as a noun is familiar.

• BOOK (verb)
  The verb BOOK has 4 senses:

1. engage for a performance

2. arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance

3. record a charge in a police register

4. register in a hotel booker

  Familiarity information: BOOK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOOK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

I am reading a good book on economics

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

publication (a copy of a printed work offered for distribution)

Meronyms (parts of "book"):

signature (a sheet with several pages printed on it; it folds to page size and is bound with other signatures to form a book)

running head; running headline (a heading printed at the top of every page (or every other page) of a book)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

authority (an authoritative written work)

curiosa (books on strange or unusual subjects (especially erotica))

formulary; pharmacopeia ((pharmacology) a book containing a compilation of pharmaceutical products with their formulas and methods of preparation)

trade book; trade edition (a book intended for general readership)

bestiary (a medieval book (usually illustrated) with allegorical and amusing descriptions of real and fabled animals)

catechism (an elementary book summarizing the principles of a Christian religion; written as questions and answers)

pop-up; pop-up book (a book (usually for children) that contains one or more pages such that a three-dimensional structure rises up when a page is opened)

storybook (a book containing a collection of stories (usually for children))

tome (a (usually) large and scholarly book)

booklet; brochure; folder; leaflet; pamphlet (a small book usually having a paper cover)

school text; schoolbook; text; text edition; textbook (a book prepared for use in schools or colleges)

workbook (a student's book or booklet containing problems with spaces for solving them)

copybook (a book containing models of good penmanship; used in teaching penmanship)

appointment book; appointment calendar (a book containing a calendar and space to keep a record of appointments)

catalog; catalogue (a book or pamphlet containing an enumeration of things)

phrase book (a book containing common expressions in a foreign language along with their translations)

playbook (a book containing the scripts of one or more dramatic plays)

prayer book; prayerbook (a book containing prayers)

book of facts; reference; reference book; reference work (a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts)

review copy (a copy of a newly published book that is sent for review to a writer or periodical)

songbook (a book containing a collection of songs)

yearbook (a book published annually by the graduating class of a high school or college usually containing photographs of faculty and graduating students)

Instance hyponyms:

Capital; Das Kapital (a book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic theories)

Erewhon (a satirical novel written by Samuel Butler (1872) describing a fictitious land)

Utopia (a book written by Sir Thomas More (1516) describing the perfect society on an imaginary island)

Derivation:

booklet (a small book usually having a paper cover)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

book; volume

Context example:

he used a large book as a doorstop

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

Meronyms (parts of "book"):

back; binding; book binding; cover (the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book)

fore edge; foredge (the part of a book that faces inward when the book is shelved; the part opposite the spine)

backbone; spine (the part of a book's cover that encloses the inner side of the book's pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

album (a book of blank pages with pockets or envelopes; for organizing photographs or stamp collections etc)

coffee-table book (an elaborate oversize book suitable for displaying on a coffee table)

folio (a book (or manuscript) consisting of large sheets of paper folded in the middle to make two leaves or four pages)

hardback; hardcover (a book with cardboard or cloth or leather covers)

journal (a record book as a physical object)

novel (a printed and bound book that is an extended work of fiction)

order book (a book in which customers' orders are entered; usually makes multiple copies of the order)

paper-back book; paperback; paperback book; soft-cover; soft-cover book; softback; softback book (a book with paper covers)

picture book (a book consisting chiefly of pictures)

sketch block; sketch pad; sketchbook (a book containing sheets of paper on which sketches can be drawn)

notebook (a book with blank pages for recording notes or memoranda)

Derivation:

booklet (a small book usually having a paper cover)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

book; record; record book

Context example:

his name is in all the record books

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

fact (a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

logbook (a book in which the log is written)

won-lost record ((sports) a record of win versus losses)

card; scorecard ((golf) a record of scores (as in golf))

Sense 4

Meaning:

A written version of a play or other dramatic composition; used in preparing for a performance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

book; playscript; script

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

dramatic composition; dramatic work (a play for performance on the stage or television or in a movie etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

prompt copy; promptbook (the copy of the playscript used by the prompter)

continuity (a detailed script used in making a film in order to avoid discontinuities from shot to shot)

dialog; dialogue (the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction)

libretto (the words of an opera or musical play)

scenario (an outline or synopsis of a play (or, by extension, of a literary work))

screenplay (a script for a film including dialogue and descriptions of characters and sets)

shooting script (the final detailed script for making a movie or TV program)

Derivation:

booklet (a small book usually having a paper cover)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A record in which commercial accounts are recorded

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

account book; book; book of account; ledger; leger

Context example:

they got a subpoena to examine our books

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

record (a document that can serve as legal evidence of a transaction)

Meronyms (members of "book"):

accounting; accounting system; method of accounting (a bookkeeper's chronological list of related debits and credits of a business; forms part of a ledger of accounts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

cost ledger (ledger showing the accumulated costs classified in various ways)

general ledger (the ledger that contains all of the financial accounts of a business; contains offsetting debit and credit accounts (including control accounts))

subsidiary ledger (details of an account supporting the amount stated in the general ledger)

daybook; journal (a ledger in which transactions have been recorded as they occurred)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A collection of playing cards satisfying the rules of a card game

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Domain category:

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

book; rule book

Context example:

they run things by the book around here

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Meronyms (parts of "book"):

prescript; rule (prescribed guide for conduct or action)

rule (directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

al-Qur'an; Book; Koran; Quran

Instance hypernyms:

religious text; religious writing; sacred text; sacred writing (writing that is venerated for the worship of a deity)

Meronyms (parts of "Book"):

sura (one of the sections (or chapters) in the Koran)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The sacred writings of the Christian religions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Bible; Book; Christian Bible; Good Book; Holy Scripture; Holy Writ; Scripture; Word; Word of God

Context example:

he went to carry the Word to the heathen

Hypernyms ("Book" is a kind of...):

religious text; religious writing; sacred text; sacred writing (writing that is venerated for the worship of a deity)

Meronyms (parts of "Book"):

Old Testament (the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of the Christian Bible)

Testament (either of the two main parts of the Christian Bible)

New Testament (the collection of books of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline and other epistles, and Revelation; composed soon after Christ's death; the second half of the Christian Bible)

text (a passage from the Bible that is used as the subject of a sermon)

Domain member category:

covenant ((Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return)

eisegesis (personal interpretation of a text (especially of the Bible) using your own ideas)

exegesis (an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible))

Gabriel ((Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God)

Noachian deluge; Noah's flood; Noah and the Flood; the Flood ((Biblical) the great deluge that is said in the Book of Genesis to have occurred in the time of Noah; it was brought by God upon the earth because of the wickedness of human beings)

demythologise; demythologize (remove the mythical element from (writings))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Book"):

family Bible (a large Bible with pages to record marriages and births)

Instance hyponyms:

Vulgate (the Latin edition of the Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek mainly by St. Jerome at the end of the 4th century; as revised in 1592 it was adopted as the official text for the Roman Catholic Church)

Douay-Rheims Bible; Douay-Rheims Version; Douay Bible; Douay Version; Rheims-Douay Bible; Rheims-Douay Version (an English translation of the Vulgate by Roman Catholic scholars)

Authorized Version; King James Bible; King James Version (an English translation of the Bible published in 1611)

Revised Version (a British revision of the Authorized Version)

New English Bible (a modern English version of the Bible and Apocrypha)

American Revised Version; American Standard Version (a revised version of the King James Version)

Revised Standard Version (a revision of the American Standard Version)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A major division of a long written composition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the book of Isaiah

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

section; subdivision (a self-contained part of a larger composition (written or musical))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "book"):

Epistle (a book of the New Testament written in the form of a letter from an Apostle)

Instance hyponyms:

Book of Genesis; Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament: tells of Creation; Adam and Eve; the Fall of Man; Cain and Abel; Noah and the flood; God's covenant with Abraham; Abraham and Isaac; Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers)

Book of Exodus; Exodus (the second book of the Old Testament: tells of the departure of the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt led by Moses; God gave them the Ten Commandments and the rest of Mosaic law on Mount Sinai during the Exodus)

Book of Leviticus; Leviticus (the third book of the Old Testament; contains Levitical law and ritual precedents)

Book of Numbers; Numbers (the fourth book of the Old Testament; contains a record of the number of Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt)

Book of Deuteronomy; Deuteronomy (the fifth book of the Old Testament; contains a second statement of Mosaic law)

Book of Joshua; Joshua; Josue (a book in the Old Testament describing how Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan (the Promised Land) after the death of Moses)

Book of Judges; Judges (a book of the Old Testament that tells the history of Israel under the leaders known as judges)

Book of Ruth; Ruth (a book of the Old Testament that tells the story of Ruth who was not an Israelite but who married an Israelite and who stayed with her mother-in-law Naomi after her husband died)

1 Samuel; I Samuel (the first of two books in the Old Testament that tell of Saul and David)

2 Samuel; II Samuel (the second of two books of the Old Testament that tell of Saul and David)

1 Kings; I Kings (the first of two Old Testament books telling the histories of the kings of Judah and Israel)

2 Kings; II Kings (the second of two Old Testament books telling the histories of the kings of Judah and Israel)

1 Chronicles; I Chronicles (the first of two Old Testament books telling the history of Judah and Israel until the return from the Babylonian Captivity in 536 BC)

2 Chronicles; II Chronicles (the second of two Old Testament books telling the history of Judah and Israel until the return from the Babylonian Captivity in 536 BC)

Book of Ezra; Ezra (an Old Testament book telling of a rabbi's efforts in the 5th century BC to reconstitute Jewish law and worship in Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity)

Book of Nehemiah; Nehemiah (an Old Testament book telling how a Jewish official at the court of Artaxerxes I in 444 BC became a leader in rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity)

Book of Esther; Esther (an Old Testament book telling of a beautiful Jewess who became queen of Persia and saved her people from massacre)

Book of Job; Job (a book in the Old Testament containing Job's pleas to God about his afflictions and God's reply)

Book of Psalms; Psalms (an Old Testament book consisting of a collection of 150 Psalms)

Book of Proverbs; Proverbs (an Old Testament book consisting of proverbs from various Israeli sages (including Solomon))

Book of Ecclesiastes; Ecclesiastes (an Old Testament book consisting of reflections on the vanity of human life; is traditionally attributed to Solomon but probably was written about 250 BC)

Canticle of Canticles; Canticles; Song of Solomon; Song of Songs (an Old Testament book consisting of a collection of love poems traditionally attributed to Solomon but actually written much later)

Book of Isaiah; Isaiah (an Old Testament book consisting of Isaiah's prophecies)

Book of Jeremiah; Jeremiah (a book in the Old Testament containing the oracles of the prophet Jeremiah)

Book of Lamentations; Lamentations (an Old Testament book lamenting the desolation of Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC; traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah)

Book of Ezekiel; Ezechiel; Ezekiel (an Old Testament book containing Ezekiel's prophecies of the downfall of Jerusalem and Judah and their subsequent restoration)

Book of Daniel; Book of the Prophet Daniel; Daniel (an Old Testament book that tells of the apocalyptic visions and the experiences of Daniel in the court of Nebuchadnezzar)

Book of Hosea; Hosea (an Old Testament book telling Hosea's prophecies)

Book of Joel; Joel (an Old Testament book telling Joel's prophecies)

Amos; Book of Amos (an Old Testament book telling Amos's prophecies)

Abdias; Book of Obadiah; Obadiah (an Old Testament book telling Obadiah's prophecies; the shortest book in the Christian Bible)

Book of Jonah; Jonah (a book in the Old Testament that tells the story of Jonah and the whale)

Book of Micah; Micah; Micheas (an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Micah foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem)

Book of Nahum; Nahum (an Old Testament book telling Nahum's prophecy of the fall of Nineveh)

Book of Habakkuk; Habacuc; Habakkuk (an Old Testament book telling Habakkuk's prophecies)

Book of Zephaniah; Sophonias; Zephaniah (an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Zephaniah which are concerned mainly with the approaching judgment by God upon the sinners of Judah)

Aggeus; Book of Haggai; Haggai (an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Haggai which are concerned mainly with rebuilding the temples after the Babylonian Captivity)

Book of Zachariah; Zacharias; Zechariah (an Old Testament book telling the prophecies of Zechariah which are concerned mainly with the renewal of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity)

Book of Malachi; Malachi; Malachias (an Old Testament book containing the prophecies of Malachi)

Gospel According to Matthew; Matthew (one of the Gospels in the New Testament; includes the Sermon on the Mount)

Gospel According to Mark; Mark (the shortest of the four Gospels in the New Testament)

Gospel According to Luke; Gospel of Luke; Luke (one of the four Gospels in the New Testament; contains details of Jesus's birth and early life)

Gospel According to John; John (the last of the four Gospels in the New Testament)

Acts; Acts of the Apostles (a New Testament book describing the development of the early church from Christ's Ascension to Paul's sojourn at Rome)

Apocalypse; Book of Revelation; Revelation; Revelation of Saint John the Divine (the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil and of the end of the world; attributed to Saint John the Apostle)

Additions to Esther (an Apocryphal book consisting of text added to the Book of Esther)

Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Children; Book of Susanna; Susanna; Bel and the Dragon (an Apocryphal book consisting of text added to the Book of Daniel)

Baruch; Book of Baruch (an Apocryphal book ascribed to Baruch)

Epistle of Jeremiah; Letter of Jeremiah (an Apocryphal book consisting of a letter ascribed to Jeremiah to the Jews in exile in Babylon warning them against idolatry)

Book of Tobit; Tobit (an Apocryphal book that was a popular novel for several centuries)

Book of Judith; Judith (an Apocryphal book telling how Judith saved her people)

1 Esdras; I Esdra (an Apocryphal book consisting of a compilation from I Chronicles and II Chronicles and Ezra and Nehemiah)

2 Esdras; II Esdras (an Apocryphal book of angelic revelations)

Ben Sira; Ecclesiasticus; Sirach; Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (an Apocryphal book mainly of maxims (resembling Proverbs in that respect))

Wisdom; Wisdom of Solomon (an Apocryphal book consisting mainly of a meditation on wisdom; although ascribed to Solomon it was probably written in the first century BC)

1 Maccabees; I Maccabees; 2 Maccabees; II Maccabees (an Apocryphal book describing the life of Judas Maccabaeus)

Holonyms ("book" is a part of...):

text; textual matter (the words of something written)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A number of sheets (ticket or stamps etc.) bound together on one edge

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he bought a book of stamps

Hypernyms ("book" is a kind of...):

product; production (an artifact that has been created by someone or some process)

• BOOK (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engage for a performance

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

Her agent had booked her for several concerts in Tokyo

Hypernyms (to "book" is one way to...):

schedule (plan for an activity or event)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

booker (someone who engages a person or company for performances)

booking (employment for performers or performing groups that lasts for a limited period of time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

book; hold; reserve

Context example:

please hold a table at Maxim's

Hypernyms (to "book" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

"Book" entails doing...:

procure; secure (get by special effort)

Verb group:

reserve (obtain or arrange (for oneself) in advance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "book"):

hold open; keep; keep open; save (retain rights to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bookable (subject to being reserved or booked)

booking (the act of reserving (a place or passage) or engaging the services of (a person or group))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Record a charge in a police register

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

The policeman booked her when she tried to solicit a man

Hypernyms (to "book" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "book"):

fine; ticket (issue a ticket or a fine to as a penalty)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Register in a hotel booker

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "book" is one way to...):

register (record in writing; enter into a book of names or events or transactions)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

bookable (subject to being reserved or booked)

booking (the act of reserving (a place or passage) or engaging the services of (a person or group))

 Context examples 

I endeavoured to apologize for the accident, but it was evident that these books which I had so unfortunately maltreated were very precious objects in the eyes of their owner.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

‘Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?’ she asked.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In fact, I had crammed navigation from text-books aboard; and besides, there was Wolf Larsen’s star-scale, so simple a device that a child could work it.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The book, however, had been left in the billiard-room, so I pulled on my dressing-gown and started off to get it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Scraps of old copy-books and exercises litter the dirty floor.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A stout man, with a red sweater that sagged generously at the neck, came out and signed the book for the driver.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

If this book should ever reach Mina before I do, let it bring my good-bye.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He opened his pocket-book and counted out the bills.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Meg, Beth, and Amy were sitting together, late in the afternoon, when Jo burst into the room, looking excited and demanding breathlessly, "Has anyone taken my book?"

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

For you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)