paperback

Also softcover;

[pey-per-bak]

noun

1. a book bound in a flexible paper cover, often a lower-priced edition of a hardcover book.

adjective

1. (of a book) bound in a flexible paper cover.

   a paperback edition of Orwell's novel.

2. of, for, or pertaining to paperbacks.

   a paperback bookstore.

paperback

/ ˈpeɪpəˌbæk /

noun

1. a book or edition with covers made of flexible card, sold relatively cheaply Compare hardback

adjective

1. of or denoting a paperback or publication of paperbacks

verb

1. to publish in paperback

Other Word Forms

• paperbacker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of paperback¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; paper + back ¹

Example Sentences

But Isaac is a literature guy, toting around a paperback of Nobel Prize winner José Saramago’s “Blindness” to underscore that neither one of them sees their mismatch clearly.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the performers fans have travelled from other towns and cities to grab his old paperbacks, some of which contain annotations by Cave.

From BBC

There are two recipes I return to every summer, like the way some people revisit a favorite trail or reread a dog-eared paperback.

From Salon

Surrounded by shelves stacked with brightly coloured paperbacks – with titles including Just For the Summer, Swept Away and The Friendship Fling – young women are milling around, chatting and flicking through books.

From BBC

It is sea spray softened paperback and laughter filled reunions.

From Salon

Related Words

• album 
• booklet 
• brochure 
• copy 
• dictionary 
• edition 
• essay 
• fiction 
• magazine 
• manual 
• novel 
• pamphlet 
• publication 
• text 
• textbook 
• tome 
• volume 
• work 
• writing