- steel rolled in large flat plates, used in making steam boilers
- syndicated features or fillers that are relatively timeless, sent to newspapers, formerly as stereotype plates, now often by wire, mail, or computer
- a glib, hackneyed statement reflecting a generally accepted opinion or belief
- any of the standard clauses or sections of a legal document
noun
The definition of boilerplate is standard wording in a contract.
A generic clause about "assignability" that appears in lots of different types of contracts without being changed is an example of boilerplate.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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boilerplate
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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boilerplate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate
boilerplate
noun
- Steel in the form of flat plates used in making steam boilers.
- Journalistic material, such as syndicated features, made available by agencies in a form that is already typeset, originally in plate form, for easy incorporation into publications such as newspapers.
- Hackneyed or conventional language, usually expressing a generally accepted viewpoint: “He offered little more than boilerplate, a few watery clichés about how nations needed to work together” ( Bill Turque )
- Standardized or set language that is meant to be used repeatedly, often in organizational publications or legal documents: “This was the story he told her … when they first met and the story he stuck to, the original boilerplate” ( Philip Roth )
- Sports Snow having a hard icy crust on its surface.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"boilerplate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate>.
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boilerplate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate
Adjective
(comparative more boilerplate, superlative most boilerplate)
- Describing text of a standard or routine nature.
- The contract contained all the usual boilerplate clauses.
- Used to describe a non-functional spacecraft used to test configuration and procedures.
- A boilerplate spacecraft was used to test the rocket
Noun
(plural boilerplates)
- A sheet of steel used in the construction of a boiler.
- The rating-plate or nameplate required to be affixed to a boiler by the (UK) Boiler Explosions Act (1882)
- A plate attached to industrial machinery, identifying information such as manufacturer, model number, serial number, and power requirements.
- (computing) Standard text or program code used routinely and added with a text editor or word processor; text of a legal or official nature added to documents or labels.
- They put that boilerplate on all the warning labels.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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boilerplate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate
boilerplate - Computer Definition
Text that is used over and over with very little or no change. For example, boilerplate is essential in the legal profession as pre-written paragraphs are often combined to create agreements. It is also essential for canned responses in tech support and is a feature of many e-mail programs. Also called "stationery" and "templates," e-mail boilerplate enables a message with the same subject and body text to reply to different recipients. Unfortunately, the boilerplate feature is not always available, especially in Web-based e-mail, requiring several extra steps to accomplish the task. See boilerplate code and e-mail signature.
AUTO-TYPIST (1940s to 1970s)
Like a player piano, it read canned text as hole patterns on pre-punched rolls. As the roll unwound, the holes directed negative pressure through hoses connected to a tiny bellows on each key, snapping it down. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)
Create the Boilerplate
Typing on this AUTO-TYPIST perforator recorded the text by punching holes in the rolls. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)
"The Ultimate in Automatic Typing"
From the 1940s up until the mid-1970s, AUTO-TYPIST machines from the American Automatic Typewriter Company provided reliable document processing. (Image courtesy of TMC/Compco, Inc.)
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
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"boilerplate." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 06 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate>.
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boilerplate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate
boilerplate - Legal Definition
n
Any standardized language or
working that is almost always found in certain legal documents such as
contracts and deeds. The terms are often in fine print and typically deal with
matters that are either noncontroversial or nonnegotiable. See also contract, fine print, and unconscionable.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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boilerplate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/boilerplate
Sentence Examples
- The sales person customizes such a proposal to the client but keeps the so-called 'boilerplate' information such as the "about the company" or "about the product" sections the same.
- Many sales and marketing departments have a standard "boilerplate" proposal already written to use when drafting a formal proposal for a client.