chapbook

noun

chap·​book ˈchap-ˌbu̇k How to pronounce chapbook (audio)
Synonyms of chapbooknext
: a small book containing ballads, poems, tales, or tracts

Examples of chapbook in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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To this end, earlier this year, Lost Kite announced its inaugural chapbook prize, whose winner—to be selected by Hanif Abdurraqib—will be announced this fall. Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026 This essay is an edited excerpt from the chapbook Jig, published in the Cahier Series (January 2026) by the Center for Writers & Translators at the American University of Paris, and Sylph Editions, London. Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026 Over the next 300 years, chapbooks and broadside ballads became mainstays in Britain. Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2025 The students spend the semester writing and polishing a novel excerpt, memoir excerpt, or chapbook length collection of poetry. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chapbook

Word History

Etymology

chapman + book

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chapbook was in 1775

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Cite this Entry

“Chapbook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chapbook. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.

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