Word.ws English Dictionary

know like a book

know like a book verb: to have an extensive and penetrating understanding of (something or someone).

Verb

know like a book (third-person singular simple present knows like a book, present participle knowing like a book, simple past knew like a book, past participle known like a book)

  1. (transitive, simile) To have an extensive and penetrating understanding of (something or someone).
    • "He's a bad man, that John Mason, and my advice to you and to every one, is to keep clear of him. I know him like a book."1851, T. S. Arthur, “That John Mason”, in Off-Hand Sketches
    • "Olson can hide out around here until the snow flies if he wants to. He knows these woods—every steam and lake—like a book."1939 June 21, “Slayer Still Free in Woods”, in Leader Post, Saskatchewan, Canada, retrieved 18 Nov 2013, page 9

Synonyms of know like a book

Forms of know like a book

third-person singular presentknows like a book
present participleknowing like a book
pastknew like a book
past participleknown like a book

Questions about know like a book

What does know like a book mean?
Know like a book means to have an extensive and penetrating understanding of (something or someone).
What part of speech is know like a book?
Know like a book is a verb.
What is the past tense of know like a book?
The past tense of know like a book is knew like a book.

Words near know like a book in the dictionary

  1. know how to pick 'em
  2. know how to walk before one can run
  3. know if one is Arthur or Martha
  4. know inside and out
  5. know inside out
  6. know like a book
  7. know like the back of one's hand
  8. know like the palm of one's hand
  9. know no bounds
  10. know of
  11. know on what side one's bread is buttered

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: know like a book (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-know like a book.ogg.

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