Word.ws English Dictionary

read like an open book

read like an open book is the alternative form of read like a book.

Meaning of read like a book

Verb

read like a book (third-person singular simple present reads like a book, present participle reading like a book, simple past and past participle read like a book)

  1. (transitive, simile) To be able to discern someone's thoughts from their body language or other behavior, especially in great detail and with little effort.
    • I love playing poker against Maria because I can read her like a book.

Forms of read like an open book

third-person singular presentreads like an open book
present participlereading like an open book
past participleread like an open book
pastread like an open book

Questions about read like an open book

What is read like an open book the alternative form of?
Read like an open book is the alternative form of read like a book.

Words near read like an open book in the dictionary

  1. read in
  2. read into
  3. read length
  4. read lengths
  5. read like a book
  6. read like an open book
  7. read lips
  8. read me
  9. read mes
  10. read minds
  11. read my lips

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: read like an open book (page history and authors); read 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.

Last updated:

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

Cite this entry: “read like an open book.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/read_like_an_open_book. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.