mimeograph

noun

mim·​eo·​graph ˈmi-mē-ə-ˌgraf How to pronounce mimeograph (audio)
: a duplicator for making many copies that utilizes a stencil through which ink is pressed
mimeograph transitive verb

Examples of mimeograph in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web An angry man typing out memos about an invisible world government might make a few mimeographs or carbon copies, but the chance that any ended up in a library, catalogued and preserved, is slight. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2023 The rarely exhibited three-page mimeograph is one of several drafts King and his advisors wrote. Briana A. Thomas, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023 Ed Sanders, who read his first poems at Les Deux Mégots in 1961, remembered it as a place of political activism and a new, young poetics shaped by mimeograph machines and spirited readings. John Leland, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2023 Instead of home economics and wood shop, Coyote learned how to operate a mimeograph. Bryce Dole and Zack Demars, oregonlive, 30 July 2022 The civil rights leader’s reply—drafted in the margins of a newspaper, on bits of paper left behind by a black trustee and on legal pads left behind by lawyers—was smuggled out of the jail and eventually compiled into a mimeograph. Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Mar. 2021 Cockburn was among a crop of journalists during the mid-20th century who turned their back on traditional media and used the mimeograph to go directly to their readers. Michael Waters, Wired, 28 Sep. 2020 Originally produced on a mimeograph, the calendar successfully adapted to the computer and internet eras. James R. Hagerty, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2018 When Howarth began teaching in 1987, teachers mingled in a smoking lounge, and copies were cranked out on a mimeograph. Debbie Truong, Washington Post, 1 July 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mimeograph.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from Mimeograph, a trademark

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mimeograph was in 1887

Dictionary Entries Near mimeograph

Cite this Entry

“Mimeograph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mimeograph. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

mimeograph

noun
mim·​eo·​graph ˈmim-ē-ə-ˌgraf How to pronounce mimeograph (audio)
: a machine for making copies of typewritten or written matter using a stencil
mimeograph verb

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