teletypewriter

noun

tele·​type·​writ·​er ˌte-lə-ˈtīp-ˌrī-tər 

plural teletypewriters

: a printing device resembling a typewriter that is used to send and receive telephonic signals : teletype sense 1

They use a teletypewriter, which allows deaf people to make and receive phone calls …

—Lou Ann Walker

The new videophone technology … ends the need for the laborious typing and translating required to use teletypewriters …

—Marcee McKernan

called also TTY

Examples of teletypewriter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All rooms feature wheelchair-accessible doors, lowered peepholes, light switches, and closet door handles; a roll-in shower or tub with grab bars; and teletypewriters and telecommunications devices available upon request. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 May 2026

The Hearing Accessible Room features strobe lights for emergency alerts and offers the option to request a Hearing Assistive Technology Kit, which includes a teletypewriter for phone communication and a vibrating bed shaker alarm. — David Morris, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2025

In 1976, the Service offered toll-free telephone and teletypewriter service to the deaf and hard of hearing. — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2025

The Lifeline has offered teletypewriter, text and chat tools that are accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but Wesolowski noted that some of those options may not feel as personal for some users. — Kelly Livingston, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2023

The teletypewriter process is burdensome, especially if both parties don’t have access to one, Robertson said. — Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 20 Sep. 2019

Baudot’s teletype machine, also called a teletypewriter, used a five-key keyboard, write Froehlich and Kent. — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 11 Sep. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for teletypewriter

• biter
• brighter
• fighter
• lighter
• miter
• niter
• reiter
• righter
• slighter
• tighter
• titer
• titre

Kids Definition

teletypewriter

noun

tele·​type·​writ·​er ˌtel-ə-ˈtīp-ˌrīt-ər 

: a printing device resembling a typewriter that is used to send and receive signals over telephone lines