notebook

noun

note·​book ˈnōt-ˌbu̇k 

1

: a book for notes or memoranda

2

: laptop entry 2

especially : a particularly small or light laptop

… have been selling smaller, lighter, cheaper and more powerful notebooks for two years.

—Peter H. Lewis

—often used before another noun

a notebook computer

Examples of notebook in a Sentence

Take out your notebook and write down some of your ideas.

She kept a notebook for her poetry.

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of tucking her poem away in a notebook, Santos decided to publish it in 2021. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026

Phillip Cutler is caught on an interview room camera eating one of two pages ripped from his notebook. —Marcelena Spencer, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026

But a majority of the items are rock & roll memorabilia, like Ringo Starr’s blue sapphire pinky ring (purchased for $120,650) and Jim Morrison’s 1969 notebook ($266,700). —Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2026

Vautin has created a true stationery smorgasbord, stuffed with creamy notebooks, wax seals, fountain pens and inks, wee porcelain bowls, mini-colored-pencil sets, gift wrap, highlighter pens, Hobonichi planners, a bounty of illustrated stickers, and washi-tape rolls by the dozen. —Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1568, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for notebook

• kinderhook
• meadowbrook
• overlook
• overtook
• pocketbook
• storybook
• tillamook
• undertook
• betook
• casebook
• chapbook
• checkbook

Kids Definition

notebook

noun

note·​book ˈnōt-ˌbu̇k 

1

: a book for notes

2

: a portable computer that is similar to but usually smaller than a laptop