soft-cover book
- noun
- /ˈsɔftˌkʌvər bʊk/
:
libro de tapa blanda
- A soft-cover book is easier to handle and makes a great gift for young readers.
Examples
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She prefers soft-cover books because they are lighter and more portable.
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I went over and one of the books was a small, black, soft-cover book.
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I always carry a soft-cover book in my bag for light reading during my commute.
Synonyms
88
1.3
A book with a soft paper cover, not a hard cover
3
1.4
A book with a soft paper cover instead of a hard cover
1
2.8
A book with a flexible paper cover, not a hardback
1
3.3
A book with thin, flexible paper on the outside rather than a hard cover
A book with a soft paper cover instead of a hard cover
Antonyms
How Rigid
Surface Forms
Morphology
soft-cover + book
The phrase is a regular noun phrase built from the adjective-noun combination 'soft' + 'cover' modifying 'book', so its meaning 'a book with flexible/paper covers' is directly inferable from the constituents. This compositional pattern is common in English (and mirrored in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the parts will readily understand it despite hyphenation or the compound not appearing as a single dictionary entry.
Etymology
Soft-cover book comes from the simple image of a book with a soft paper cover instead of a stiff 'hardcover', and the name points to the flexible outer part of the book. So it means a book bound with flexible paper covers, often lighter and cheaper than a 'hardcover'.