a weighty book

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a weighty book" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a book that is physically heavy or one that is substantial in content, such as complex ideas or themes. Example: "The professor assigned a weighty book on philosophy that took weeks to read and comprehend."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

This new approach, the subject of a weighty book just published by the World Bank*, is based on "notional" (or non-financial) defined contributions (NDCs) by workers.

The Economist

Though dismissed by Hawthorne himself as "not a good nor a weighty book," and freighted with a stubbornly, gallantly retained dedication to the unpopular Pierce, "Our Old Home" sold well enough to whet Ticknor & Fields's appetite for more Hawthorne.

The New Yorker

Photographers loved to get her to pose in tight shorts, a silk robe or a swimsuit with a come-hither look and a weighty book — a history of Goya or James Joyce's "Ulysses" or Heinrich Heine's poems.

The New York Times

Set in 1996, it sees a young clergyman struggling to set up a church in a deprived part of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Kelly reflects in energetic, muscular prose on the history of the Labour movement and foreshadows the huge social change to come; this is a weighty book in both senses.

The Guardian - Books

Though dismissed by Hawthorne himself as "not a good nor a weighty book," and freighted with a stubbornly, gallantly retained dedication to the unpopular Pierce, "Our Old Home" sold well enough to whet Ticknor & Fields's appetite for more Hawthorne.In December, he showed Fields the first chapter of his final reworking of the elixir theme, now titled "The Dolliver Romance".

The New Yorker

That means multi-disc box sets that are not so much compiled as "curated", often with a weighty book attached that contains archive photos and a mini-history lesson of the artist's career.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

53 human-written examples

Ali Smith's How to Be Both would also have made a worthy, very different winner, but this is in some ways a weightier book.

The Guardian - Books

Deborah Levy's Freudian tale of madness among the middle classes, Jeet Thayil's brilliantly rambling stories of druggy Bombay, Tan Twan Eng's exploration of atrocity and artistry, Alison Moore's slow-burning portrait of a man in flight from his past: Mantel's is, literally and metaphorically, a weightier book than these.

The Guardian - Books

Most formidable is Birgit Nilsson 100: An Homage, a huge, weighty book that contains reminiscences (several covering extensively Nilsson's career at important houses: Stockholm, Vienna, Bayreuth, Buenos Aires, Covent Garden, La Scala), newspaper reviews, and other clippings, including obituaries.

Yale University

It's pretty upsetting to imagine our children's children thumbing through a dusty, weighty book in search of perfunctory and to first stumble upon perf.

Huffington Post

We've written a few weighty books on the subject ourselves, and we firmly believe that this kind of stuff is worth thinking about.

The New York Times - Books

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a weighty book", consider whether you want to emphasize the physical heaviness or the intellectual depth of the content. Choose other words to clarify your intention.

Common error

Avoid using "a weighty book" when you simply mean a long book. "Weighty" implies significance or complexity, not just length. For example, if the book is a light novel but has many pages, "long book" is more accurate.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a weighty book" functions as a noun phrase, where "weighty" modifies the noun "book". It serves to describe the book, emphasizing either its physical heaviness or the significance and depth of its content. Ludwig AI confirms its correct and usable nature.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

57%

Academia

29%

Formal & Business

14%

Less common in

Science

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a weighty book" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase, as validated by Ludwig AI, that describes a book of significant physical weight or substantial intellectual content. It is most commonly encountered in news and media sources, with notable presence in academic writing. While other options exist to convey similar meanings, understanding its dual connotation of physical and intellectual substance is key. This phrase is more suited to formal contexts than informal ones.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a substantial book

Emphasizes the significant content or size, similar to "a weighty book".

a heavy tome

Highlights the physical weight and large size of the book.

a dense book

Focuses on the complexity and amount of information contained within the book.

a significant work

Emphasizes the importance and impact of the book's content.

a comprehensive volume

Indicates that the book covers a wide range of topics or information.

an important book

Highlights the book's relevance and influence.

a sizeable book

Refers to the large physical dimensions of the book.

an in-depth study

Suggests a detailed and thorough examination of a subject, presented in book form.

a scholarly text

Highlights the academic and intellectual nature of the book.

a monumental work

Implies that the book is a significant achievement and of great importance.

FAQs

What does "a weighty book" mean?

The phrase "a weighty book" can refer to a book that is either physically heavy or significant in terms of its content, importance, or intellectual depth.

How can I use "a weighty book" in a sentence?

You can use "a weighty book" to describe a book with substantial content, like, "The professor assigned us "a weighty book" on astrophysics." Alternatively, you might describe a physically heavy book, like "The antique tome was "a weighty book", difficult to carry around".

What are some alternatives to "a weighty book"?

Depending on the context, you could use alternatives like "a substantial book", "a dense book", or "a significant work".

Is it correct to use "weighty" to describe a book's content and not just its physical weight?

Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to use "weighty" to describe the content of a book. It implies that the subject matter is serious, important, or complex.