What does bluebook mean?
A bluebook is a reference publication whose authority is traditionally signaled by its blue cover, though the word now names several distinct things. In the United States it most often refers to a pricing guide for used vehicles, consulted to establish fair market value before a sale; the best-known example, the Kelley Blue Book, has made 'bluebook value' a standard phrase in American English. A second, older sense is a social register listing prominent families and their memberships, a fixture of twentieth-century American society columns. Bluebooks also include official government publications—legislative manuals and state registers—and, in American universities, the small blue-covered booklets students write essay exams in. Because these senses share only their binding color and connotations of officialdom, context usually makes clear which one is meant, but the vehicle-price meaning dominates everyday usage today.
nounA bluebook is an official or authoritative reference publication bound in blue covers, most famously either a register of socially prominent people in the United States or a guide to the prices of used cars. The term can also refer to an examination booklet with a blue cover used for handwritten essay answers in American universities.
- A reference guide listing the fair market values of used cars and other vehicles.
- A register of socially prominent individuals, families, or institutions, especially in American society pages.
- An official government or institutional publication issued in blue covers, such as legislative manuals or state registers.
- (US universities) A small booklet with blue covers in which students write essay examinations by hand.
"Before selling her sedan, she checked the bluebook value so she would know what a fair offer looked like."
"The dealer offered him slightly less than the bluebook value, so he decided to sell privately instead."
"Students were told to bring two pens and nothing else, since all answers had to be written directly into the bluebook."
Standard regular plural; used when referring to multiple volumes, exam booklets, or editions.
"At the start of finals week, the bookstore sold stacks of blank bluebooks outside the lecture hall."
The same two-word phrase can tell you what your car is worth, who counts as high society, and how you'll be graded on your final exam.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bluebook
The compound is transparently formed from the English words 'blue' and 'book', both of Germanic origin: 'book' traces back to Old English 'bōc' (related to German 'Buch'), while 'blue' came into Middle English from Old French 'bleu', ultimately of Germanic stock. The term arose because official and authoritative publications were conventionally bound in blue covers, a practice seen in both Britain and America from at least the nineteenth century. Related compounds built on 'blue'—such as 'blueprint' and 'blueblood'—likewise use the color to signal something technical, official, or aristocratic.
How bluebook is actually used
When referring to the Kelley vehicle-pricing guide specifically, writers usually capitalize it as a proper name ('the Kelley Blue Book'); lowercase 'bluebook' is the generic term. The exam-booklet sense is largely confined to American higher education and may puzzle British readers.
Easily confused with bluebook
As a common noun 'a bluebook' means any such reference volume generically, while capitalized titles like the Kelley Blue Book refer to specific branded publications.