# notebook

/ˈnoʊtˌbʊk/ (US) · /nˈəʊtbʊk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/notebook
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. paper book

noun · CEFR A1

a book with empty pages that you use for writing notes or drawing.

For teachers: a book of plain, lined, or gridded paper used for recording memoranda, sketches, or academic notes.

- She always carries a small notebook in her bag to write down new ideas.
- The researcher filled several notebooks with handwritten observations before digitising the data for the final report.

Usage: countable

### 2. laptop computer

noun · CEFR A2

a small, portable computer that you can carry easily.

For teachers: a portable personal computer, typically small and light enough to be used on one's lap.

- He opened his notebook to check his emails while waiting at the airport.
- The company issued high-end notebooks to all remote employees to ensure they had sufficient processing power for video editing.

Usage: countable

Teaching tip: While 'laptop' is more common in casual speech, 'notebook' is often used in technical or marketing contexts to emphasise portability.

### 3. coding interface

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a type of computer program where you can mix live code, math, and text.

For teachers: a virtual environment or interface used in literate programming that allows for the integration of executable code, rich text, and data visualisations.

- The data scientist shared a notebook containing the analysis and the charts.
- By using a notebook interface, the team could document their algorithmic choices alongside the actual code execution for better reproducibility.

Usage: often used as an attributive noun

Teaching tip: This sense is specific to data science and software development, most commonly associated with tools like Jupyter.

## Examples

- I always carry a notebook to write down my ideas.
- She opened her notebook to a fresh page and began sketching the landscape in front of her.
- The researcher meticulously logged every observation in a leather-bound notebook, ensuring that no detail of the experiment was lost to memory before the final report was drafted.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.