coffee table book
/ˈkɔfi ˌteɪbəl ˈbʊk/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.58 in modern English
31
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A large book, usually with lavish illustrations, typically displayed on a coffee table.
Example Sentences
- "Nonbooks are of several kinds; but their differences notwithstanding, they all share two common features: they tend to be written for market rather than for intellectual reasons, and they are all means rather than ends. [...] Of all nonbooks, the most conspicuous example is the ‘coffee-table book’. The latter usually find their market by virtue of their decorative assets rather than from any literary or intellectual merit, or for that matter – since such works are often art books – by significantly serving important aesthetic or historical purposes."
- "The Family Book of Black America (Crown, $20), a photographic coffee table book, by Michael H. Cottman and Deborah Willis."
- "I am leery of coffee table books. They are often pretty but have little substance once you get under the surface."
- "Mukulika Banerjee and Daniel Miller serenade the garment [the sari] in their remarkable coffee-table book The Sari. [...] Photographs build the warp and weft of coffee-table books. Words seldom rule and even if written by well-known writers, they have to take second place to the camera's five-colour dominance."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɔfi ˌteɪbəl ˈbʊk/
- British English: /ˈkɒfi ˌteɪbəl ˈbʊk/