boilerplate

or boil·er plate

[ boi-ler-pleyt ]
/ ˈbɔɪ lərˌpleɪt /

noun

plating of iron or steel for making the shells of boilers, covering the hulls of ships, etc.
Journalism.
  1. syndicated or ready-to-print copy, used especially by weekly newspapers.
  2. trite, hackneyed writing.
the detailed standard wording of a contract, warranty, etc.
Informal. phrases or units of text used repeatedly, as in correspondence produced by a word-processing system.
frozen, crusty, hard-packed snow, often with icy patches.

Origin of boilerplate

First recorded in 1855–60

Example sentences from the Web for boilerplate

British Dictionary definitions for boilerplate

boilerplate
/ (ˈbɔɪləˌpleɪt) /

noun

a form of mild-steel plate used in the production of boiler shells
a copy made with the intention of making other copies from it
a set of instructions incorporated in several places in a computer program or a standard form of words used repeatedly in drafting contracts, guarantees, etc
a draft contract that can easily be modified to cover various types of transaction

verb

to incorporate standard material automatically in a text