teletype

noun

tele·​type ˈte-lə-ˌtīp 

plural teletypes

1

or less commonly Teletype : a printing device resembling a typewriter that is used to send and receive telephonic signals

… the small teletype that enables deaf people to use phone lines.

—David Van Biema

The photometric readings are recorded on computer tape and printed out by a clacking teletype near the base of the telescope.

—John Noble Wilford

—often used before another noun

a teletype machine

… a teletype link set up between Moscow and Washington for the exchange of weather data.

—Evert Clark

—formerly a U.S. registered trademark

called also teletypewriter, TTY

2

: a message sent by a teletype

… Richmond police received a teletype from police in Arlington County, Virginia, about 100 miles away.

—Gordon Hickey

Examples of teletype in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Through the teletype sent on the day of the incident, Gray learned that one of those arrested was the security officer for the committee to re-elect then-President Nixon. — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 26 June 2026

There was even an old United Press International teletype machine, which used to transmit wired copy that the students would read on the air. — Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2026

The exhibition gave thousands of visitors an opportunity to see, and in some cases use, minicomputers, teletype equipment, high-speed copy machines, and closed-circuit television. — IEEE Spectrum, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for teletype

• allotype
• antitype
• archetype
• biotype
• collotype
• genotype
• haplotype
• holotype
• hypotype
• isotype
• lectotype
• linotype

Kids Definition

Teletype

trademark

Tele·​type ˈtel-ə-ˌtīp 

—used for a teletypewriter