as in bookseller
one who is keenly devoted to books
a bookman since toddlerhood, he's never shown much interest in television or video games
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Recent Examples of bookman
Subsequent chapters explore great bookmen of the Renaissance, from the Florentine tradesman Vespasiano da Bisticci and the Flemish illuminator Simon Bening to the English antiquarian Sir Robert Cotton — manuscript obsessives all.
—
Bruce Holsinger, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Once asked to describe himself, McMurtry called himself a writer, a screenwriter — and perhaps most significantly, a bookman.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021
In the 1970s and ’80s, a flamboyant Texas bookman and one-time president of the ABAA named John Jenkins made money selling stolen and forged items to libraries and collectors.
—Travis McDade, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
As bookmen and women became intelligence agents, the ordinary activities of librarianship—acquisition, cataloguing, and reproduction—became fraught with mystery, uncertainty, and even danger.
—Time, 3 Jan. 2020
Books would come in monthly, 10 or 15 at a time, carefully packed as only a bookman can pack books, and Dimunation would open them, eager for the riches inside.
—Jorge Dionis, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2013
Bruce Holsinger, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
Once asked to describe himself, McMurtry called himself a writer, a screenwriter — and perhaps most significantly, a bookman.
—Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021
In the 1970s and ’80s, a flamboyant Texas bookman and one-time president of the ABAA named John Jenkins made money selling stolen and forged items to libraries and collectors.
—Travis McDade, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
As bookmen and women became intelligence agents, the ordinary activities of librarianship—acquisition, cataloguing, and reproduction—became fraught with mystery, uncertainty, and even danger.
—Time, 3 Jan. 2020
Books would come in monthly, 10 or 15 at a time, carefully packed as only a bookman can pack books, and Dimunation would open them, eager for the riches inside.
—Jorge Dionis, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bookman
Noun
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Amazon, which started as an online bookseller and this year closed its Amazon Fresh supermarkets and Amazon Go convenience stores, is putting local infrastructure in place to shorten the distance between its warehouses and rural areas.—
Anne D'Innocenzio,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
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The letter has come to light because Peter Harrington Rare Books, a bookseller based in London, has listed it as part of a package for sale in the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, which was held April 30-May 3.—
Jackie Hajdenberg,
Sun Sentinel,
4 May 2026
Noun
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So, where are bibliophiles headed in 2026?—
Connor Sturges,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 2026
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In the sumptuousness of the bibliophile’s parlor, studying Black history occasioned reverent, joyous gatherings.—
Laura E. Helton,
Literary Hub,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The antiquarian admittedly didn’t have such an easy road to the opening in 2005.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026
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Martin Farquhar Tupper, a poet and an antiquarian favored by Queen Victoria, argued that Rapa Nui was the remnant of a lost continent whose people had perished.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bookman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bookman. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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