textbook

textbook

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Pronunciation

IPA Spelling: /ˈtɛkstbʊk/

Syllable Breakdown:

• text- (/tɛkst/):

• t /t/ (as in top)

• e /ɛ/ (as in bed)

• x /ks/ (as in fox)

• t (This 't' is often reduced or blended with the following 'b' in rapid speech)

• -book (/bʊk/):

• b /b/ (as in bat)

• oo /ʊ/ (as in put or good)

• k /k/ (as in kit)

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Word Form Variations

• Singular (Noun): textbook

• Plural (Noun): textbooks

• Adjective: textbook (e.g., "a textbook landing")

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Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Noun

1. A book containing comprehensive information about a specific subject, designed for students and used as a primary resource for a course of study.

• Synonyms: coursebook, manual, primer, study guide, reader

• Antonyms: novel, journal, leisure reading, comic book

2. (Figurative) The established rules or standard procedures for a situation.

• Synonyms: the script, the rules, protocol, procedure

• Antonyms: improvisation, deviation, ad-lib

Adjective

1. Conforming perfectly to a standard, model, or set of rules; ideal or classic.

• Synonyms: classic, model, perfect, ideal, exemplary, quintessential, archetypal

• Antonyms: flawed, imperfect, atypical, unorthodox, unconventional, unusual

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Examples of Use

Noun (Literal Use: A book for study)

• Online Publication: "The push for 'open educational resources' aims to replace expensive textbooks with free, openly licensed digital materials to reduce the financial burden on college students." (Source: Inside Higher Ed, October 2025)

• Newspaper: "Local school districts are debating the adoption of new history textbooks amid ongoing curriculum controversies." (Source: The Boston Globe, September 2025)

• Book (Non-fiction): "In her memoir, she recalled hiding her copy of Pride and Prejudice inside her chemistry textbook so she could read it during class."

• General Public Discourse: "I have to sell my textbooks back at the end of the semester, but they always give you way less than what you paid."

Adjective (Figurative Use: A classic or perfect example)

• Newspaper: "The prime minister's sudden reversal on the policy was described by opponents as a 'textbook case' of political opportunism." (Source: The Guardian, October 2025)

• Entertainment (Television): [In a sports broadcast] "Look at that form. The pass, the catch, the run—that was a textbook touchdown."

• Online Publication: "The company's response to the data breach was far from textbook; critics noted they waited days to inform their users, violating standard protocol." (Source: Wired, July 2025)

• Entertainment (Social Media/Platform): [A YouTube video title] "My Textbook Method for Smoking the Perfect Brisket"

• General Public Discourse: "He followed the instructions perfectly. It was a textbook assembly, and it still fell apart."

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10 Famous Quotes Using Textbook

1. "Let those who will - write the nation's laws - if I can write its textbooks." (Paul Samuelson)

2. "Everything was so new... There were no textbooks, so we had to write them." (Katherine Johnson)

3. "A textbook is a book somebody else thinks you ought to read." (E. B. White)

4. "The content of most textbooks is perishable, but the tools of self-directedness serve one well over time." (Albert Bandura)

5. "I think 'The Great Gatsby' is a textbook novel: it's perfectly structured." (John Mulaney)

6. "We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore." (John Hope Franklin)

7. "My life is a textbook example of how dreams come true." (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam)

8. "Technology can bring textbooks to life." (Queen Rania of Jordan)

9. "A textbook assumes that the teacher will test the student on what's in the textbook." (Howard Gardner)

10. "A textbook is the only book you can read without a lamp." (Jiang Zilong)

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Etymology

The origin of "textbook" is very straightforward: it's a compound word, which is just two separate words ("text" and "book") joined together.

• Book: This part is easy. It comes from the Old English word bōc, which simply means "book" or "a written document."

• Text: This is the key part. The word "text" comes from the Latin word textus, which meant "that which is woven" or "web." (It's the same root as the word "textile," meaning woven fabric). Over time, people used textus metaphorically to describe the way words are "woven" together to form the body of a written work.

First Use and Meaning

The first known use of the compound word "textbook" is from around 1730.

Its original meaning was very specific. In early universities, a course was often based on one single, standard work of authority (like a specific work by Aristotle, for example). This core writing was called the "text."

A teacher would then lecture and provide commentary, explanations, and notes on that text. A "textbook" was, quite literally, the book that contained the main "text" for the class, often printed with wide margins so students could write down all the teacher's commentary.

So, a "textbook" was the book of standard text for a subject.

Today, the meaning has expanded, but the core idea is the same. It's still the standard book that contains the main information (or "text") for any course of study.

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Phrases + Idioms Containing Textbook

Phrases Using "Textbook"

• A textbook case (of...): The absolute, most standard example of a situation or condition.

• Example: "His reaction was a textbook case of denial."

• The textbook definition (of...): The perfect or most classic illustration of a concept.

• Example: "That lazy afternoon at the lake was the textbook definition of peace."

• A textbook example (of...): Interchangeable with "textbook case," meaning a prime model.

• Example: "The whole project was a textbook example of poor planning."

• A textbook [noun]: Used to describe an action or object that is executed perfectly, as if to be a model in a textbook.

• Examples: "a textbook landing," "a textbook tackle," "a textbook answer."

• To write the textbook on...: To be such an expert or perfect example of something that you could have written the definitive guide on it.

• Example: "She wrote the textbook on how to handle a crisis."

• Straight from a textbook: An event or action that is so predictable or classic it seems unoriginal, as if it were a scenario in a study guide.

• Example: "His excuse was straight from a textbook on how to lie."

Related Idioms (With Synonyms)

These idioms don't use the word "textbook" but carry the same meaning of "a perfect model" or "following the standard."

• By the book: To do something exactly according to the rules or standard procedure.

• A classic case (of...): The same meaning as "a textbook case."

• A copybook [noun]: A British expression, especially in sports, for a perfect, technically correct action (from the idea of perfectly copying letters in a school notebook).

• A picture-perfect [noun]: An action or scene so flawless it could be a photograph.

• A model [noun]: A person or thing that serves as a perfect example to be imitated (e.g., "a model student").

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Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

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Source Information

Definition of textbook from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

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