Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - book

(books, booking, booked) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. A book is a number of pieces of paper, usually with words printed on them, which are fastened together and fixed inside a cover of stronger paper or cardboard. Books contain information, stories, or poetry, for example. His eighth book came out earlier this year and was an instant best-seller... ...the author of a book on politics. ...reference books. N-COUNT 2. A book of something such as stamps, matches, or tickets is a small number of them fastened together between thin cardboard covers. Can I have a book of first class stamps please? N-COUNT: usu N of n 3. When you book something such as a hotel room or a ticket, you arrange to have it or use it at a particular time. British officials have booked hotel rooms for the women and children... Laurie revealed she had booked herself a flight home last night. ...three-star restaurants that are normally booked for months in advance. = reserve VERB: V n, V n n, V-ed 4. A company’s or organization’s books are its records of money that has been spent and earned or of the names of people who belong to it. (BUSINESS) For the most part he left the books to his managers and accountants... Around 12 per cent of the people on our books are in the computing industry. N-PLURAL 5. When a referee books a football player who has seriously broken the rules of the game, he or she officially writes down the player’s name. League referee Keith Cooper booked him in the first half for a tussle with the goalie. VERB: V n 6. When a police officer books someone, he or she officially records their name and the offence that they may be charged with. They took him to the station and booked him for assault with a deadly weapon. = charge VERB: V n 7. In a very long written work such as the Bible, a book is one of the sections into which it is divided. N-COUNT 8. see also booking, cheque book, phone book 9. If you bring someone to book, you punish them for an offence or make them explain their behaviour officially. Police should be asked to investigate so that the guilty can be brought to book soon. PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you say that someone or something is a closed book, you mean that you do not know anything about them. Frank Spriggs was a very able man but something of a closed book... Economics was a closed book to him. PHRASE: v-link PHR 11. If a hotel, restaurant, theatre, or transport service is fully booked, or booked solid, it is booked up. The car ferries from the mainland are often fully booked by February. PHRASE: v-link PHR 12. In my book means ‘in my opinion’ or ‘according to my beliefs’. The greatest manager there has ever been, or ever will be in my book, is retiring. = to my mind PHRASE: PHR with cl 13. to cook the books: see cook to take a leaf from someone’s book: see leaf