Word of the Week: boilerplate (BOY-ler-playt) Definition (noun) 1.syndicated material supplied especially to weekly newspapers in matrix or plate form 2. a) standardized text b) formulaic or hackneyed language 3.  tightly packed icy snow   In Context "'I think the middle class is getting clobbered,' he said one day, over lunch. 'I think there has to be a significant change in both, over time, fiscal policy and tax policy.' He was trying to get that view 'further insinuated into the White House,' he said. It seemed like boilerplate, and I didn't quote it." Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2019