white paper

American  

[hwahyt pey-per, wahyt, hwahyt-pey-per, wahyt] / ˈʰwaɪt ˈpeɪ pər, ˈwaɪt, ˈʰwaɪtˌpeɪ pər, ˈwaɪt /

noun

• white papers
  plural

1. paper bleached white.

2. an official governmental report.

3. an authoritative report issued by any organization.

   The TV network presented its white paper on news coverage of major crimes.

4. an official British government publication on a specific subject prepared by a committee and presented to the House of Commons, usually reporting results of a recent investigation or summarizing policy.

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white paper British  

noun

1. (often capitals) an official government report in any of a number of countries, including Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, which sets out the government's policy on a matter that is or will come before Parliament

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• white papers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of white paper

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white paper

Earlier in our conversation, which veers rapidly across his prolific career, he held up a series of storyboards scrawled on white paper.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

With your back to the Sun, you can project the eclipse as it happens on to another piece of white paper or card.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

But that didn’t stop Mr. Wyden from broaching the costly topic again in his white paper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

In a recent white paper, Murphy predicted that internal-combustion power trains would slide to about 66% of the power-train mix, while hybrids could almost double to about 27% of that mix by 2031.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 5, 2026

He pulls a white paper package from his jacket pocket and holds it out to me.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins