font

1 of 2

noun (1)

1
a
: a receptacle for baptismal water
b
: a receptacle for holy water
c
: a receptacle for various liquids
2
: source, fountain
a font of information
fontal adjective

font

2 of 2

noun (2)

: an assortment or set of type or characters all of one style and sometimes one size

Examples of font in a Sentence

Noun (1) a domestic diva who is a seemingly endless font of new ideas
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Printed in a wistful italic font and decorated haphazardly with doves, shooting stars, butterflies and the Rialto Bridge, the invitation appears homemade, but not in an artisanal sense. Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 25 June 2025 The numbers are the Knighted Eras font with Polaris star perforations. Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 June 2025 Telltale signs, the warrant said, were inconsistent fonts and holograms, poor fine-line printing, and photographs of poor quality. Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 June 2025 One of our dreams is to generate a font that will help people with dyslexia parse sentences. Eric James Beyer, Quanta Magazine, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for font

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin font-, fons, from Latin, fountain

Noun (2)

French fonte, from Middle French, act of founding, from Vulgar Latin *fundita, feminine of funditus, past participle of Latin fundere to found, pour — more at found

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

circa 1688, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of font was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Font.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/font. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

font

1 of 2 noun
1
: a basin for baptismal or holy water
2

font

2 of 2 noun
: an assortment of type or characters all of one size and style
Etymology

Noun

Old English font "basin for holy water," derived from Latin font-, fons "fountain, spring" — related to fountain

Noun

from early French fonte "act of casting metal," derived from Latin fundere "to pour melted metal into a mold" — related to found entry 3, founder entry 2

More from Merriam-Webster on font

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