page-turner
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
It is newly arrived in paperback, and a perfect summer page-turner.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
“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
This account has no great literary merit, but it’s an undeniable page-turner with utility to anyone contemplating the lifestyle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
The judges said: "A novel about class ascension and a man who is remarkably detached from his desires, and a disquisition on the art of being alive. It is also an absolute page-turner."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
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
Emily was followed by a slew of page-turners in similar, breathy vein: Bella, Harriet, Imogen and Prudence.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2025
Her true genre is uplifting, forward-thinking, character-driven science fiction: cozy page-turners attuned to diplomacy, tea drinking, alien minds and the urgent power of self-definition.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2023
Ackerman juggles literary fiction with speculative detours and military page-turners like “2034,” which imagines a future conflict with China.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2023
With meticulously rendered action scenes, surprising plot twists, relatable, off-kilter characters and charming dialogue, his books are page-turners.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2021
I love page-turners, especially when they are as unusual as this novel.
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.
