US /blɝ(ː)b/
noun verb Freq #50600

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A short promotional description of a book, film, or product, often quoting praise.

    A glowing blurb from a famous author appeared on the back cover.

  2. 2
    verb

    To write a short promotional comment praising a book or product.

    Several well-known critics agreed to blurb her debut novel.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a short promotional... endorsement
Word family
Forms blurbs

Etymology

Coined by American humorist Gelett Burgess in 1907 on a dust jacket at a trade association dinner. The dust jacket said “YES, this is a “BLURB”!” and featured a (fictitious) “Miss Belinda Blurb” shown calling out, described as “in the act of blurbing”.

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