boilerplate
noun
Did you know?
Boilerplate in Print
In the days before computers, small newspapers around the U.S. relied heavily on feature stories, editorials, and other printed material supplied by large publishing syndicates. The syndicates delivered that copy on metal plates with the type already in place so the local papers wouldn't have to set it. Printers apparently dubbed those syndicated plates "boiler plates" because of their resemblance to the plating used in making steam boilers. Soon boilerplate came to refer to the printed material on the plates as well as to the plates themselves. Because boilerplate stories were often more filler—material used to fill extra space in a column or page of a newspaper to increase its size—than important or informative news, the word acquired negative connotations and gained the "standardized or formulaic language" sense widely used today.
Examples of boilerplate in a Sentence
Gabriel Snyder, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
Not surprisingly, the company reverts to boilerplate language in its perfunctory SEC filings.
—Noah Barsky, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
The phrase is boilerplate language in most settlements.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2025
Often, buried in the boilerplate are exemptions for tariffs, similar to material cost escalator provisions.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for boilerplate
Cite this Entry
“Boilerplate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boilerplate. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
boilerplate
noun
Share