What does ebook mean?
An ebook is a book published in electronic form rather than on paper, designed to be read on devices such as dedicated e-readers, tablets, smartphones, or computers. Unlike a scanned page image, a typical ebook is a reflowable digital file whose text adapts to any screen size, allowing readers to adjust font size, lighting, and layout to their preference. Ebooks are usually sold or lent as downloads from online stores and libraries, and formats such as EPUB have become standard across the industry. The word carries no particular emotional weight: it is neutral and practical, sitting alongside 'print book' or 'hardcover' when distinguishing between editions of the same work. Since emerging in the 1990s, 'ebook' has become firmly established in English, spawning related terms like 'e-reader' and reshaping how millions of people buy, borrow, and read books every day.
nounAn electronic version of a printed book, read on a computer, e-reader, tablet, or smartphone. It is a book in digital form that can be downloaded and stored as a file.
- A book published or made available in electronic/digital form, readable on an e-reader, computer, tablet, or smartphone.
"She downloaded the ebook to her e-reader and finished it over a single weekend."
"The library now lends more ebooks than physical copies each month."
"He self-published his novel as an ebook before landing a print deal."
The plural is regular; no apostrophe is used.
"The store offers thousands of ebooks at discounted prices."
The word 'ebook' is barely older than the technology itself — it burst into English in the 1990s as one of the fastest-accepted coinages of the digital age.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ebook
The word 'ebook' is a modern compound formed from the letter 'e', short for 'electronic', combined with 'book', following the pattern established by earlier coinages such as 'email' and 'e-commerce'. It arose in English during the 1990s as digital publishing technology developed, with early variants including 'e-book' and 'eBook'. Its root element, 'book', derives ultimately from Old English 'bōc', which originally referred to a written document or tablet. Cognate forms of 'book' appear across the Germanic languages, such as German 'Buch' and Dutch 'boek'.
How ebook is actually used
'Ebook' is a neutral, modern term used in both everyday and commercial contexts. Style guides vary on capitalization and hyphenation — 'ebook', 'e-book', 'E-book', and 'eBook' are all attested, with lowercase 'ebook' increasingly dominant. The plural is simply 'ebooks'.
Easily confused with ebook
There is no common word 'e-read'; the confusion is more often with 'e-reader', which refers to the device used to read an ebook rather than the book itself.