hardback

American

[hahrd-bak] / ˈhɑrdˌbæk /

noun

hardcover.

hardback British

/ ˈhɑːdˌbæk /

noun

a book or edition with covers of cloth, cardboard, or leather Compare paperback

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

Also: casebound. hardbound. hardcover. of or denoting a hardback or the publication of hardbacks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hardback

First recorded in 1740–50; hard + back ¹

Compare meaning

How does hardback compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

hardback vs. paperback

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse was a lockdown sensation, and in 2021 it was named the biggest selling adult hardback of all time in the UK.

From BBC

Justin Torres: I read this a while ago when it was in rawer form, and now I have this beautiful hardback.

From Los Angeles Times

Publisher Puffin and Sheen will give £1 from the sale of each hardback copy and 50p from the sale of each paperback copy of the book in the UK and Ireland to Shelter.

From BBC

He said the price was "an absolutely great result for a first edition hardback."

From BBC

Errors helped an auctioneer identify the hardback as one of 500 copies from the book's first print run.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023