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Definition of Notebook :

a small, lightweight laptop computer.

Definition of Laptop :

a portable, usually battery-powered microcomputer small enough to rest on the user's lap.

In this case, a notebook is defined as a laptop, so does "notebook" = "laptop"?

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  • I would seriously avoid using an equals sign ("=") when asking about two words. Two words are almost never "equal". I think what you're really wanting to ask is, "Can a notebook be considered a kind of laptop?" You might also be interesting in checking out English Language Learners, if you haven't already.
    – J.R.
    Commented Oct 5, 2013 at 10:35
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    No. The meaning of words lies in what they are used to mean, not in dictionaries. Dictionary compilers do their best to capture the meaning, but may not get it accurately. In particular, when a new word arises which (partly) overlaps with an existing definition, it may not be clear whether or not the existing definition should be revised to narrow it.
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Oct 5, 2013 at 15:00

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The laptop was originally designed to be similar to a desktop, but be small and light enough that it could be used while sitting in your lap. For this reason, years ago, you would find that a laptop had more features than notebooks did, but the tradeoff was being larger and heavier than a notebook. This is because the notebook style of portable computers was for mobility, not just portability. To be a more mobile device, the notebook was a thinner design and it weighed less than the laptop, simply because it didn't come packed with features and multiple devices and drives.

Years ago, notebook computers would have a smaller display than a laptop, fewer internal drives (hard drive, floppy or CD-ROM - depending on the year manufactured), and the sound, modem, and such would be integrated - not separate upgradable hardware devices. Laptops were considered to be desktop replacements; portable computers with features, functions, and options comparable to your desktop computer.

So while there technically is a difference between the two -- and that is the size and weight of the device (which in turn impacts the system's features) -- today there is even less of a difference between the two since technology advancements means that most common computer devices and peripherals are much smaller now.

Example: When NEC released its UltraLite Notebook in 1989, a portable PC that many attribute to being the first notebook computer, it contained a CPU, RAM, ROM, 2MB solid state memory storage, a built-in modem and one RS-232C port. It weighed 5 pounds. The laptops from around this same time frame, such as the Compaq SLT/286, would typically have a CPU, memory, hard drive, floppy drive, VGA display and could weigh up to 12 or 14 pounds. The laptops could be two to three times the thickness of the notebook.

I have attained my source from here.

Alternatively, you can click here for a more organized table of difference between notebooks and laptops.

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  • I remember growing up with one of those ‘portable’ 14-pound laptops (more like 14-stone laptops if you ask me) around the house. But I never knew that the very first notebooks actually came with SSDs instead of spinning drives! Talk about history repeating itself. :-)
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Oct 5, 2013 at 14:45

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