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page-turner

American  
[peyj-tur-ner] / ˈpeɪdʒˌtɜr nər /

noun

  1. a book so exciting or gripping that one is compelled to read it very rapidly.

page-turner British  

noun

  1. an exciting novel, such as a thriller, with a fast-moving story

"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 page-turner

First recorded in 1970–75

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.

“Red Carpet” was a New York Times Editors' Choice, called a "page-turner" by Foreign Affairs, and named one of the best books ever written about Hollywood by Esquire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

The creeping horror at the center of Ishiguro’s science fiction is surrounded by the tensions of growing up in this literary page-turner.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

Indeed, even egregious perpetuation of the status quo is rarely a page-turner.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2024

The story: This epic page-turner is about a family derailing and the secrets they keep.

From BBC • Nov. 25, 2023

Tim O’Reilly Publisher and Founder, O’Reilly and Associates Doctorow has created a rich and exciting vision of the future, and then wrote a page-turner of a story in it.

From Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Doctorow, Cory

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.