Fair Value Measurements - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2021	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Financial assets		$ 441,131,000	$ 262,601,000
Non-financial liabilities fair value		0	0	$ 0
Impairment charge for goodwill	$ 262,000,000.0	0	279,000,000	0
Impairment of intangible assets		0	0	0
Impairment of operating lease assets		11,700,000
Operating lease assets		2,000,000.0
Impairment of property, plant and equipment		1,600,000
Long-lived assets—International		5,088,000	6,487,000
Non-marketable investments		6,300,000	4,400,000
Gains from non-marketable investments		1,900,000
Gain (Loss) on Investments		1,442,000	2,091,000
Gain on Investment [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Investments		1,400,000
Cost of Sales [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Investments		500,000
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Long-lived assets—International		300,000
Other Intangible Assets
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Impairment of intangible assets		0	0	$ 0
Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Aggregate notional amount of derivative instruments		12,600,000	14,900,000
Maximum [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Fair value of counterparty default exposure		1,000,000.0	1,000,000.0
Money Market Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Financial assets		441,131,000	262,135,000
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Financial assets		441,131,000	262,135,000
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member] \| Money Market Funds [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Financial assets		441,131,000	262,135,000
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member] \| Bank Time Deposits [Member]
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Financial assets		$ 22,000,000.0	$ 19,100,000

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co 10-K