hardcover

[ hahrd-kuhv-er ]

noun

1. a book bound in cloth, leather, or the like, over stiff material:

   Hardcovers are more durable than paperbacks.

adjective

1. bound in cloth, leather, or the like, over stiff material:

   a hardcover series.

2. noting or pertaining to hardcover books:

   hardcover sales.

Other Words From

• hardcovered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardcover¹

First recorded in 1945–50; hard + cover

Example Sentences

This cloth quarter-bound hardcover book is printed on tactile, uncoated papers, and will be available to purchase at this release event.

From Los Angeles Times

The hardcover packs in photos and essays from prominent Vietnamese scholars and stars.

From Los Angeles Times

The paperback and hardcover versions of the 2016 memoir now occupy the top two spots on the Amazon bestsellers list.

From Los Angeles Times

The book, in paperback and hardcover, currently ranks No. 1 and No. 2 on Amazon's bestseller lists.

From BBC

Those versions are much less expensive than hardcovers available in the United States, for example, and much less expensive the same books in translation, which have to observe minimum pricing in countries like Germany.

From New York Times

Related Words

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