table of contents
- noun
- /ˈteɪbəl əv ˈkɒntɛnts/
- We searched the table of contents and flipped to our page, reading aloud about thunder and lightning.
- table of contents and index
- table of contents page
- table of contents and glossary
And like creating sections within like a table of contents of a hefty book proposal.
- And like creating sections within like a table of contents of a hefty book proposal.
- It begins when you look at the the table of contents.
- Now, as far as the structure goes, I think, you know, as many books, there's the table of contents kind of reveals this.
- Happiness is overrated by Raymond Angelo Belliati and looking at the table of contents, little sassy wants to get in here.
- You can also look at the table of contents because those are the phrases that people get excited about.
Examples
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Brianna checks the table of contents and quickly flips to her page.
Academic text (2013) -
You can also look at the table of contents because those are the phrases that people get excited about.
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It's all here in the table of contents.
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I am going to read you the table of contents on page 4.
Fiction book (2000) -
We did not use the book's index or table of contents.
Academic text (2009) -
Where's the table of contents in this thing?
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Students in Ms. Wilson's classroom said the table of contents was the most difficult part.
Academic text (2014) -
Through this work, students began to understand the significance of a table of contents, headings, and subheadings.
Academic text (2014) -
Before diving into the book, check the table of contents to see what chapters are included.
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The table of contents in this report clearly outlines each section and the corresponding page numbers.
Synonyms
A list near the front of a book showing chapter titles and page numbers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'table' denotes an organized arrangement of information and 'contents' refers to the items in a book, so together they denote an organized list of a book's contents. This is a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern (e.g. French 'table des matières', Spanish 'tabla de contenidos'/'índice'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Table of contents comes from the simple picture of a neat table that shows the contents of a book. It is a 'list' at the front that tells you where to 'find pages' for each chapter.