book learning

See more synonyms for book learning on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

Origin of book learning

First recorded in 1580–90

Related formsbook-learn·ed

[boo k-lur-nid, -lurnd] /ˈbʊkˌlɜr nɪd, -ˌlɜrnd/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for book-learning

account, knowledge, lesson, study, version, examination, learning, translation, education, review, perusal, conception, impression, inspection, understanding, rendering, scrutiny, construction, treatment, rendition

Examples from the Web for book-learning

Historical Examples of book-learning

There he plied his tasks so diligently that he excelled all in book-learning.
Welsh Fairy Tales
William Elliott Griffis
Especially was he contemptuous of the book-learning that gave the authorities their power.
Vulcan's Workshop
Harl Vincent
Sports should be as carefully looked to in early education as book-learning.
Memoirs
Charles Godfrey Leland
Life in China is not wholly made up of book-learning and commerce.
The Civilization Of China
Herbert A. Giles
It was not the love of book-learning, still less the love of games, which drew him there.
Victorian Worthies
George Henry Blore

British Dictionary definitions for book-learning

book-learning