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hardback

American  
[hahrd-bak] / ˈhɑrdˌbæk /

noun

  1. hardcover.

hardback British  
/ ˈhɑːdˌbæk /

noun

  1. a book or edition with covers of cloth, cardboard, or leather Compare paperback

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. Also: casebound.   hardbound.   hardcover.  of or denoting a hardback or the publication of hardbacks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hardback

First recorded in 1740–50; hard + back 1

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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.

Justin Torres: I read this a while ago when it was in rawer form, and now I have this beautiful hardback.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2025

Publisher Puffin and Sheen will give £1 from the sale of each hardback copy and 50p from the sale of each paperback copy of the book in the UK and Ireland to Shelter.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2025

And in just weeks, the paperback version of Harry’s memoir “Spare” will be published, after the hardback sold six million copies and became the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2024

Attendees trade notes on current projects, discuss the month’s hardback releases and lament the state of our collective national attention.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2024

I opened the box and found a brand new Shahnamah, a hardback with glossy colored illustrations beneath the passages.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

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.