handbook
Americannoun
-
handbooks
plural
-
a book of instruction or guidance, as for an occupation; manual.
a handbook of radio.
-
a guidebook for travelers.
a handbook of Italy.
-
a reference book in a particular field.
a medical handbook.
-
a scholarly book on a specific subject, often consisting of separate essays or articles.
a handbook of lectures on criticism.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of handbook
Translation of German Handbuch
Explanation
A handbook is a guide or list of instructions on one particular subject. A new car comes with a handbook explaining how its controls work and giving tips for problems that arise. Sometimes new parents wish their newborn infant came with a handbook. A handbook is a type of reference book, offering information about a topic or a machine. Your bird handbook might include pictures of birds in your region, and the handbook that came with your blender will tell you how to use it and also might include several smoothie recipes. In Old English, it was handboc, though in Middle English this was replaced by manual, thought at the time to be a much prettier word.
Vocabulary lists containing handbook
Reading: Informational - Middle School
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Reading: Informational - High School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
A Strathclyde Police Standard Operating Procedures handbook for 2006 states: "The force should not recruit people with cautions or convictions, which may call into question the integrity of the applicant or the force."
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
You could pick that wording right out of the Premier League handbook.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Participants were assigned to different family groups and used a government civil-defense handbook as a reference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
“Bird by Bird,” her 1994 writing handbook, which has sold more than 1 million copies and continues to sell approximately 40,000 copies each year, became a meme before there were memes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
And how pissed off and determined she looked, slapping the handbook down on that chair backstage.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
That includes First Choice’s handbooks for volunteers, training materials, and agreements such as the statements of faith that employees must uphold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
Mick Cronin’s postgame speech wasn’t one found in many coaching handbooks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
The university, she said, had handed over letters from nonprofits and copies of student handbooks that were publicly available.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
The lawyers invoked an array of dictionaries, grammar usage guides, statutory drafting manuals, and handbooks for reading law, one of which was co-authored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2023
Lists of figures—which made up much of the substance of rhetorical handbooks down through the ages—are an attempt to categorize or give a system to the impossibly wide range of things that language can do.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
