as in bookseller
one who is keenly devoted to books
a bookman since toddlerhood, he's never shown much interest in television or video games
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Recent Examples of bookman
Subsequent chapters explore great bookmen of the Renaissance, from the Florentine tradesman Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Flemish illuminator Simon Bening to the English antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton — manuscript obsessives all.
—
Bruce Holsinger, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Once asked to describe himself, McMurtry called himself a writer, a screenwriter — and perhaps most significantly, a bookman.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021
In the 1970s and ’80s, a flamboyant Texas bookman and one-time president of the ABAA named John Jenkins made money selling stolen and forged items to libraries and collectors.
—Travis McDade, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
As bookmen and women became intelligence agents, the ordinary activities of librarianship—acquisition, cataloguing, and reproduction—became fraught with mystery, uncertainty, and even danger.
—Time, 3 Jan. 2020
Books would come in monthly, 10 or 15 at a time, carefully packed as only a bookman can pack books, and Dimunation would open them, eager for the riches inside.
—Jorge Dionis, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2013
Bruce Holsinger, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Once asked to describe himself, McMurtry called himself a writer, a screenwriter — and perhaps most significantly, a bookman.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021
In the 1970s and ’80s, a flamboyant Texas bookman and one-time president of the ABAA named John Jenkins made money selling stolen and forged items to libraries and collectors.
—Travis McDade, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
As bookmen and women became intelligence agents, the ordinary activities of librarianship—acquisition, cataloguing, and reproduction—became fraught with mystery, uncertainty, and even danger.
—Time, 3 Jan. 2020
Books would come in monthly, 10 or 15 at a time, carefully packed as only a bookman can pack books, and Dimunation would open them, eager for the riches inside.
—Jorge Dionis, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bookman
Noun
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Talking Animals Books is the official bookseller for the North Texas Teen Book Festival at the Irving Convention Center.—
Rick Mauch,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Sep. 2025
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For Darcie, another bookseller, the most difficult people to recommend books to are those looking for books that, well, don’t exist.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Cincinnati is great for bibliophiles, as Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library has 41 locations, and more than 395,000 residents have library cards.—
Kaycee Sloan,
The Enquirer,
21 Aug. 2025
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These are serious bibliophiles who’ve made reading a central part of their identity and are willing to travel across continents to find others who share that passion.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
Noun
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At last year’s antiquarian fair, a single volume by Mr. Jones, a cookbook of recipes from fellow prisoners, sold for $20,000 to the University of California at Berkeley’s Bancroft Library, according to Mr. Kinmont, who handled the sale.—
Corey Kilgannon,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
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In some quarters, preservation is thought of as an antiquarian undertaking, a sentimental allegiance to structures that have ceased to function and so have relinquished their right to exist.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bookman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bookman. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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