knowledge acquired by reading books, as distinguished from that obtained through observation and experience.
formal education.
She thought that common sense was just as important as book learning.
knowledge gained from books rather than from direct personal experience
formal education
First recorded in 1580–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And while that book learning was fine and all, neither school taught Berhalter the subject he really wanted to study, which was soccer.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2022
During my dad’s illness, I experienced firsthand what had, until then, just been book learning: Financial planners are often at their best when your life is at its worst.
From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2021
“While book learning was the star of the show up until now, practical, hands-on learning has come into the picture.”
From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2020
Here amid the down-on-their luck cars and acrid smells in the garage, there were moments of puzzlement and flashes of excitement as students brought their book learning to real-world leaks and electrical shorts.
From Washington Post • Dec. 29, 2018
But what is important to Gilbert is not just book learning, or even the performing of experiments.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
