noun
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a book of specimens, esp of penmanship, for imitation
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a book for or containing documents
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informal to spoil one's reputation by making a mistake, offending against social customs, etc
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(modifier) trite or unoriginal
copybook sentiments
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of copybook
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.
See Examples For:
Thereafter, and with the game long decided, England dropped six chances, five of which were tough, in the back half of West Indies' innings to blot their copybook somewhat.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Miyazawa produced a copybook finish in the 81st, running onto a superb through ball and directing her shot wide of Mikalsen.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2023
Among Burke's epigrams are such copybook maxims as "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2023
But in 1903, Griffith badly blotted his copybook.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2022
The magistrate accepted the copybook reluctantly, as though it were tainted.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
They’ve blotted their own copybooks by choosing to seek short-term relief at the expense of their long-term mission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2025
Not doing it is a bit of a blot on the copybooks of both players.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025
Spencerian penmanship inscribed its elegant contours across the culture during its long reign among the ledgers and copybooks.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2017
But go back a few generations and you will find school copybooks full of diacritics: role was rôle, and so on.
From Time ● Feb. 17, 2016
During recess the teachers locked themselves up in their office with the shelves of books, copybooks, inks from China.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
