Novels

British

/ ˈnɒvəlz /

plural noun

Roman law the new statutes of Justinian and succeeding emperors supplementing the Institutes, Digest, and Code: now forming part of the Corpus Juris Civilis

"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 Novels

Latin Novellae ( constitūtiōnēs ) new (laws)

Example Sentences

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Novels

Novels about country mice who move to the city are frequently grim tales of innocence lost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

They also dig into David Brooks’ controversial opinion column “When Novels Mattered” arguing that good literary fiction is a thing of the past.

From Slate ● Jul. 26, 2025

Novels that give voice to the often unheard stories of migrants around the world are among the nominees for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

Novels include a comedy of retail manners, two titles that continue character studies and an important retelling of a classic American tale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024

“It’s a novel. Novels are fiction. Some people got really crazy over that dumb book.”

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

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