Steinbeck

American

[stahyn-bek] / ˈstaɪn bɛk /

noun

John (Ernst) 1902–68, U.S. novelist: Nobel Prize 1962.

Steinbeck British

/ ˈstaɪnbɛk /

noun

John ( Ernst ). 1902–68, US writer, noted for his novels about agricultural workers, esp The Grapes of Wrath (1939): Nobel prize for literature 1962

"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

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.

There were other influences: He was reportedly a voracious reader of Victor Hugo, John Steinbeck and Leo Tolstoy.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026

This outdoor thriller wouldn’t be misplaced on a shelf alongside certain tales by Faulkner, Hemingway or Steinbeck.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Auden was a champion of his work, as was Nobel-prize winner John Steinbeck.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2024

During Steinbeck’s visits, none of the migrants knew they were being observed by a famous writer who intended to document their experiences, as Steinbeck used a fictitious name while he was in the camps.

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2024

Instead of Steinbeck and Shakespeare, her students read “watered-down news articles or biographies, bastardized novels, memos or brochures.”

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023