type

1 of 2

noun

ˈtīp

often attributive

: a particular kind, class, or group

oranges of the seedless type

leaders of the new type … did England yeoman's service

G. M. Trevelyan

: something distinguishable as a variety : sort

what type of food do you like?

: a member of an indicated class or variety of people

the guests were mostly urban types

Lucy Cook

: a typical and often superior specimen

: qualities common to a number of individuals that distinguish them as an identifiable class: such as

(1)

: the morphological, physiological, or ecological characters by which relationship between organisms may be recognized

(2)

: the form common to all instances of a linguistic element

: printed letters

b(1)

: a rectangular block usually of metal bearing a relief character from which an inked print can be made

(2)

: a collection of such blocks

a font of type

(3)

: alphanumeric characters for printing

the type for this book has been photoset

: typeface

italic type

: matter set in type

: a distinctive mark or sign

: a person or thing (as in the Old Testament) believed to foreshadow another (as in the New Testament)

: one having qualities of a higher category : model

: a lower taxonomic category selected as a standard of reference for a higher category

also : a specimen or series of specimens on which a taxonomic species or subspecies is actually based

type

2 of 2

verb

typed; typing

intransitive verb

: to write something on a typewriter or enter data into a computer by way of a keyboard

transitive verb

: to produce (a character, a document, etc.) using a keyboard (as on a typewriter or computer)

also : keyboard

: to identify as belonging to a type: such as

: to determine the natural type of (as a blood sample)

: typecast

: to produce a copy of

: to represent in terms of typical characteristics : typify

: to represent beforehand as a type : prefigure

typeable

ˈtī-pə-bəl

adjective

Choose the Right Synonym for type

type, kind, sort, nature, description, character mean a number of individuals thought of as a group because of a common quality or qualities.

type may suggest strong and clearly marked similarity throughout the items included so that each is typical of the group.

one of three basic body types

kind may suggest natural grouping.

a zoo seemingly having animals of every kind

sort often suggests some disparagement.

the sort of newspaper dealing in sensational stories

nature may imply inherent, essential resemblance rather than obvious or superficial likenesses.

two problems of a similar nature

description implies a group marked by agreement in all details belonging to a type as described or defined.

not all acts of that description are actually illegal

character implies a group marked by distinctive likenesses peculiar to the type.

research on the subject so far has been of an elementary character

Example Sentences

Noun We were not prepared to face this type of crisis. We studied various types of trees. a seedless type of orange He only likes two types of music. She likes all types of books. Verb How fast can you type? I never learned how to type. She asked her secretary to type a memo. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What type of splash could Hopkins and Hollywood make?

Bob Mcmanaman, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2022 Most colleges offer some type of mental health services on campus, but students’ need for mental health care has intensified dramatically throughout the pandemic.

Olivia Sanchez, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2022 Knowing what type of insurance is required, how much insurance is appropriate, and how to obtain that insurance for your business will be addressed in this workshop.

Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2022 Both Cristina and Angel DeJesus have the same blood type, enabling the transplant between spouses.

Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 24 Nov. 2022 Establishing some type of global FDA to run the trials and evaluate the results would streamline the process of bringing new vaccines to market.

Alice Park, Time, 21 Nov. 2022 To make a misickquatash or succotash, the three are cooked together along with some type of protein.

Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Nov. 2022 Buffalo has the type of talent that can run the Browns right out of Ford Field – especially if the Browns fall behind early in the game.

Terry Pluto, cleveland, 20 Nov. 2022 The Kim regime last tested an ICBM on Nov. 3 along with two short-range ballistic missiles, but the ICBM appeared to suffer some type of malfunction based on the flight trajectory, according to weapons experts.

Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 18 Nov. 2022

Verb

Copy the poem onto a blank page in Word, then type each of the four ineligible vowels into the search bar immediately to its left.

Pat Myers, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2022 And as Satram began a lesson on energy, the teens used the laptops to type notes in their native languages.

The Courier-Journal, 27 Oct. 2022 As to type, McGee notes that superfine/caster and confectioners’ sugar (not everyone loves its starch) dissolve most readily, whereas granulated can make a gritty meringue.

Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2022 Apple still maintains some restrictions on where these keyboards can and can't be used—they can't be used to type passwords or passcodes, and they can be disallowed on phones that are locked down using mobile device management (MDM) software.

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 Sep. 2022 Midjourney allow human users to type in all sorts of prompts to create random images in mere seconds, such as Judi Dench fighting a centaur on the moon.

Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 29 Aug. 2022 The website, which has versions in English and Spanish, prompts viewers to type in their home addresses to pull up a personalized list of candidates and measures on their ballots.

oregonlive, 20 Oct. 2022 Be ready to type in some basic personal information.

Cora Lewis And Adriana Morga, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2022 The Colts somehow finished a half with zero sacks allowed despite 37 attempts from Ryan, which is shocking to type.

Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'type.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Late Latin typus, from Latin & Greek; Latin typus image, from Greek typos blow, impression, model, from typtein to strike, beat; akin to Sanskrit tupati he injures and probably to Latin stupēre to be benumbed

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4a

Verb

1596, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4

Time Traveler

The first known use of type was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century