chapbook

noun

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

Examples of chapbook in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
An ode to memory and loss, this rule-defying chapbook was published as part of the New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Akashic Books, 2020) co-edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. Wanjeri Gakuru july 11, Literary Hub, 11 July 2025 They’re told to read The Proletarian’s Pocketbook (a real chapbook containing inspirational quotes from such revolutionary luminaries as Karl Marx and Malcolm X) and to immediately suspect any strangers. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 July 2025 Celebrates a new chapbook series from Brighthorse Editions, with Thomas Dillon Redshaw, Kent Aldrich, Leslie Adrienne Miller and Lon Otto reading from their work. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025 Harjo wrote her first volume of poetry, a nine-poem chapbook called The Last Song, in 1975. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chapbook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chapbook. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on chapbook

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!