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paperback book

paperback book

3 1.4
A book with a soft paper cover instead of a hard cover
  • noun
  • /ˈpeɪpərˌbæk bʊk/
translation icon : libro de bolsillo
  • Until nearly a year ago, he had come here for breakfast, read newspapers, and bought paperback books.
  • paperback book club

I still read hardcover and paperback books.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • She pulled out a paperback book from her bag and started reading on the bus.

  • Teachers should fill their classrooms with a variety of reading materials, including paperback books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and so forth.

    Academic text (1991)
  • And one of them was that the paperback book industry had taken off.

  • A description of the results of the sex survey was later published as a paperback book.

    Academic text (1990)
  • As for me, I'd take a live concert and a paperback book over digital copies any day.

    Blog text (21)
  • Inside are a few decks of cards and a paperback book.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Directly ahead was a receptionist's desk where a nurse sat reading a paperback book.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Both my schools have rolling book carts for my paperback books through DonorsChoose.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Rosalie visited during the evenings, brought paperback books, hot sandwiches, and wedges of chocolate cheesecake.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Another was carrying a paperback book by Immanuel Kant titled The Prolegomena to Any Further Metaphysics.

    Fiction book (1998)

Synonyms

paperback
vspaperback book
88 1.3

A book with a soft paper cover, not a hard cover

is the same meaning but uses a different common word form
softback
vspaperback book
  • UK
1 2.8

A book with a flexible paper cover, not a hardback

is the same meaning but is a variant term used elsewhere
soft-cover
vspaperback book
1 3.3

A book with thin, flexible paper on the outside rather than a hard cover

is the same meaning but often appears as an alternative spelling
softback book
vspaperback book
  • UK
2.1

A book with a soft paper cover instead of a hard cover

is the same meaning but tends to add the word for book
soft-cover book
vspaperback book
2.5

A book with a flexible paper cover instead of a hard cover

is the same meaning but uses the longer phrase including book

Antonyms

1 3.0

A book with a thick, stiff cover that protects the pages

How Durable

hardcover
  • US
1 3.0
paperback book
3 1.4
pamphlet
79 3.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

paperback + book

The meaning 'a book bound in a flexible paper cover' is directly and redundantly derived from the constituents: 'paperback' already denotes a book with a flexible paper cover and 'book' denotes a published set of pages. This is a fully compositional, common compounding pattern (and parallels exist in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the phrase.

Etymology

Paperback book comes from the simple picture of a book whose cover and back are made of soft paper instead of a hard cover. That's why a paperback book means a book with a flexible paper cover that is often 'cheaper' and 'lighter' to carry.