# textbook

Pronunciation: say "TEKST-buuk" US/UK /ˈtɛkst.bʊk/, AUS /ˈtekst.bʊk/

## Noun

1. A formal manual of instruction in a particular subject, especially one used in schools or colleges.
   - Simple: A book used in schools or colleges to teach one subject.
   - _The chemistry textbook devoted three full chapters to organic reactions._
   - _Many colleges now publish their textbooks in digital formats._

## Adjective

2. Done exactly right, in a way good enough to serve as a model example of how it should be performed.
   - Simple: Done so perfectly that it could be used as an example for others.
   - _The gymnast's dismount was textbook, earning a perfect score from the judges._
   - _The surgeon performed a textbook repair of the torn ligament._
3. Having the typical features of some class of thing, such that it could serve as a standard illustration of its kind.
   - Simple: Having all the usual signs of a type, like a clear example you could point to.
   - _The storm was a textbook example of how hurricanes gather strength over warm water._
   - _Her reaction was a textbook display of defensiveness under pressure._
4. Learned from books rather than from personal discovery or hands-on experience.
   - Simple: Known only from reading books, not from real experience.
   - _The new manager had textbook training but little sense of how real teams behave._
   - _His advice felt textbook, untested by the messy realities of the job._
5. Resembling a textbook in style, especially in being dry and heavily instructional.
   - Simple: Dry and dull, like the writing in a school book.
   - _The guide's textbook tone drained all the wonder out of the museum tour._
   - _Readers complained that the memoir slipped into a textbook style whenever it discussed history._

## Origin

Formed from "text" and "book".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/textbook (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).