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

Japan's latest defence white paper issued this month again highlighted growing risks from all three countries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 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

The San Francisco-based company said it is working on a white paper on best practices for containing AI models when running tests—dubbed evals—of their cybersecurity capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The manager introduced a white paper in May, framing what he said was the 4th evolutionary stage, or 4.0, of value investing.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

She was sitting on the counter, eating a sandwich wrapped in greasy white paper.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart