boilerplate
noun
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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
Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025
What’s most impressive is how On the Road turns a boilerplate genre scenario — and one that doesn’t skimp on a bloodbath at the end — into a movie that grows increasingly emotional as things get exponentially worse for its main characters.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
In documenting their arrests, the motion said, agents used boilerplate language that did not accurately depict the people arrested or the circumstances under which they were detained.
—Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2025
Prioritize your top neighborhoods, and create core pages that go beyond boilerplate.
—Oleg Levitas, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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 7 Oct. 2025.
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boilerplate
noun
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