Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to book in

to book in

2 3.3
To sign up in advance to attend or stay at a place
  • phrasal verb
  • /bʊk ɪn/
  • UK
translation icon : reservar
  • You're booked in the Honeymoon Suite—just one night?

So there was a period where actually we'd got staff meetings booked in at meal time during the World Cup.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I've got an extraction booked in London this week.

    Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

  • It's just something I wanted to do, and I did well enough that I actually have another one booked in LA next month.

    Bodied (2018)

  • Just book in with the girls, would you?

    The Enforcer (2022)

  • Yeah, we, we have booked in for a training day, but it's the day before just, it's not going to be like heavy training.

  • You are all booked in just like before.

    Dream Hacker (2025)

  • I believe you got us booked in the wrong hotel.

    The Jazz Singer (1980)

  • Leave days should be booked in advance rather than ringing up that morning.

    Blog text (15)

  • Got that appointment booked in on Friday for a little chat with the nurse.

  • We've got an one-nighter booked in tonight as well.

    Sleeping Dogs (1977)

  • We need to book in for our accommodations at the hotel before the event.

Synonyms

to book
vsto book in
439 1.8

To arrange for a seat, room, or ticket before you need it

emphasizes registering arrival or planned presence, not only arranging
to check in
vsto book in
136 1.6

To tell hotel or airport staff you have arrived and sign in

refers to arranging attendance before arrival, not registering on arrival
to reserve
vsto book in
126 3.2

To book something in advance for future use

stresses formal registration to be present rather than just holding it
to book in for
vsto book in
  • UK
3.2

To arrange a time and reserve a place for a class or appointment

focuses on registering presence rather than just setting an appointment

Antonyms

to no-show
2 4.2

To fail to go to a planned meeting or appointment without telling anyone

cancel
1.0

No longer planned or scheduled

How Confirmed

to confirm
  • Formal
265 2.6
to book in
  • UK
2 3.3
to register
603 2.8
to sign up
408 1.3

Surface Forms

book in infinitive
booked in past
booked in past participle
booking in present participle
books in third person singular

Morphology

book + in

The meaning 'to register or arrange to be present' is directly derivable from 'book' (to reserve) combined with 'in' (into/inside/register), following a common verb+particle pattern where 'in' signals entry/registration. This compositional logic is cross-linguistically common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb book in comes from the old practice of writing a guest's name into a hotel's book when they arrived. To book in is to put your name in the book, so the phrase came to mean 'to register' or 'to reserve' for a room, event, or stay.