workbook
Americannoun
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a manual of operating instructions.
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a book designed to guide the work of a student by inclusion of questions, exercises, etc.
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a book in which a record is kept of work completed or planned.
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Digital Technology. a file that contains worksheets, or multiple sections, usually in spreadsheet applications.
noun
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an exercise book or textbook used for study, esp a textbook with spaces for answers
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a book of instructions for some process
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a book in which is recorded all work done or planned
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of workbook
Explanation
A school text that includes space for you to write or do practice problems is a workbook. If you find your vocabulary workbook dull and tedious, ask your teacher if you can use Vocabulary.com instead! Simply put, a workbook is a book that you can do work in. Usually, workbooks are paperbacks filled with problems or exercises that you're meant to do right in the workbook, rather than on a separate sheet of paper. Elementary school students might have workbooks for practicing printing letters or doing simple math, while high school students may use a workbook to prepare for taking a test like the SAT.
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:
Attendees in one session were directed to write down their “unproductive thoughts” and assess if they were based on facts, according to a copy of the workbook seen by the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
A TikTok ad had steered him to “The Shadow Work Journal,” a slim workbook that directs readers to explore hidden parts of their subconscious — their shadow selves, in the book’s vernacular.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
Nearby, under the terrace of an abandoned cafe, Dray Taijer, 59, looked over a sixth-grade school workbook he dug out of the trash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2023
“We’ve seen that this forgiveness workbook can be used to address forgiveness and improve mental health. If the resource is widely disseminated, the effects on population mental health could be substantial.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023
I have nothing better to do after dinner, so I finish my homework, complete a couple of pages in my music theory workbook, and go to bed at the same time as Malia.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
She also wrote books, manuals and patient workbooks to make sure that the training was implemented correctly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Funding to schools for road safety workbooks and calendars were also cut by DfI in 2023.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2025
Hunt published workbooks and a how-to book and was generally regarded, in his flamboyant capes and hats, as the ne plus ultra of family-friendly midcentury bohemia.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2024
“I remember and detest those phonics workbooks we had to use in 1st & 2nd grade. I’m not a teacher. I would have preferred other ways of learning to read.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
He glanced inside at the children bent over their workbooks.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
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.
