bible

noun

1. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”).

   “If a person should happen to meet them when on these journeys, he should, if he has not a bible in his pocket, draw a circle round him on the ground, and in God's name forbid their approach.”

   “The bible was used by Presley throughout his life until his death on 16 August 1977 and contains his handwritten notes, thoughts and annotations.”

2. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“the analogous holy book of another religion”).

   “The Buddhist bible tells this story of Buddha’s time of temptation when he was living as a hermit on the Mount of Snow.”

3. (broadly)A comprehensive manual that describes something, or a publication with a loyal readership; a foundational text.

   “handyman’s bible”

   “K&R is considered the bible of C programming”

   “Computer Lib was written as a popular primer, but its most profound effect was on computer programmers, who needed little persuasion about the value of computers. […] Having set out to appeal to the general public, Nelson managed to publish an insider's bible and highly intimate guide to hacker culture.”

   “For example, Wired—the monthly bible of the ‘virtual class’—has uncritically reproduced the views of Newt Gingrich, […]”

   “This message resonated powerfully with the founders of Silicon Valley, including Steve Jobs, who described the [Whole Earth] Catalog as “one of the bibles of my generation.””

4. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of pitch bible.
5. A binder containing copies of the most important documents for a particular matter.

   “Could you please add these to the case bible?”

6. Synonym of holystone: a piece of sandstone used for scouring wooden decks on ships.
7. A compilation of problems and solutions from previous years of a given course, used by some students to cheat on tests or assignments.

   “My friend’s a genius, he will give me problems one through nine. The bible of a sophomore will have the needed lines.”

8. Omasum, the third compartment of the stomach of ruminants
9. The upper part of a pin-tumbler lock, containing the driver pins and springs.
10. A specific version, edition, translation, or copy of one of the above-mentioned texts.

    “He had just become able to read, with much effort, short sentences in his Bible, and was constantly engaged during his leisure hours in studying its pages.”

    “An American imprisoned for nearly six months in North Korea has admitted that he deliberately left a Bible in a nightclub, in one of his first major interviews since his release.[…]“I felt once I left the Bible somewhere that God would take it the rest of the way into the hands of some kind of Christian organisation, and I’d be able to waltz out of country fat, dumb and happy, no problem... But God had other plans.””

name

1. Either of two major versions of the main religious text in the Judeo-Christian group of traditions.

   “Meronyms: Old Testament, New Testament”

   “In my religion class we learn about the Bible, as well as religious texts of other religions.”

   “He spoke of the great demand for books. Had sold as many as fifty Bibles in one day. Has sold Bibles to nearly all the officials in the Nan-ch'ang prefecture and has several orders in hand for books of good binding.”

   “Many non-Christians regard portions of the Bible as “inspiring,” but they do not believe the Bible was “inspired by God” […]”

   ““They wave their Bibles at passersby, screaming their condemnations,” writes Kurt Eichenwald of evangelical Christians.”

2. Either of two major versions of the main religious text in the Judeo-Christian group of traditions.

   “Near-synonym: Old Testament (loosely synonymous)”

   “She's Jewish, but she doesn't read the Bible because she's not religious.”

3. The analogous holy book of another religion or belief system.

   “He conveys to his foreign students the importance of the Qur'an by explaining that it is the Bible of Islam.”

   “The cult's ideological substance was the popular digest dubbed by foreigners the Little Red Book or the Bible of Maoism.”

4. (broadly)The principal important document of some area of skill or expertise.

   “This technical handbook is the Bible of our trade.”

5. A surname originating as a matronymic.