textbook
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of textbook
Explanation
A textbook is an informational book that you use specifically for a class at school. Your biology textbook might be so heavy that you dread lugging it to class. Textbooks are manuals written for instruction in a subject, rather than books you might read for fun. Today many students read textbooks in electronic form, rather than as bound hardcovers. Starting around the 19th century (with easy access to printing and standardized education in many parts of the world), textbooks became a common educational tool. Earlier, a textbook was a name for "a book with wide spaces between the lines."
Vocabulary lists containing textbook
Reading: Informational - Middle School
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Reading: Informational - Introductory
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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.
Textbook monetary policy prescribes looking through sudden supply shocks such as higher oil prices.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Textbook prices have outpaced inflation three times over the past four decades, turning these essential tools into financial burdens.
From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024
Textbook models will need to be re-drawn after a team of researchers found that water molecules at the surface of salt water are organised differently than previously thought.
From Science Daily • Jan. 15, 2024
On Monday, new illustrations were revealed that had been approved by China's National Textbook Committee.
From BBC • Aug. 23, 2022
Multiple choice examination questions to accompany Textbook of abnormal psychology.
From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1974 January - June by Library of Congress. Copyright Office
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.
