type

1 of 2

noun

ˈtīp

often attributive

Synonyms of type next

: 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

Research shows it’s one of the most important nutrients in immune function and helps your T-cells, a type of white blood cell, work at their best. —

Erica Sweeney, Men's Health, 20 Jan. 2023 No other group of people or specific type of performance is included. —

Jo Yurcaba, NBC News, 20 Jan. 2023 Based on the prosecutors’ account, Walshe appears to have left behind nearly every type of evidence authorities normally look for in no-body cases, DiBiase told The Post. —

Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2023 And a similar case was recently seen in Nevada, though that strain remained sensitive to at least one type of antibiotic. —

Erin Prater, Fortune, 20 Jan. 2023 The obstacles Rainey overcomes to access care illustrate a type of medical inequity that transgender people who live in the rural U.S. —

Helen Santoro, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2023 Because there are countless varieties, ask your local flower shop or hardware store which type is best suited to your geographic area. —

Kate Mcgregor, ELLE Decor, 20 Jan. 2023 On that app, the suffix -core is frequently used as a modifier to describe a type of aesthetic. —

Time, 20 Jan. 2023 The stick vacuum is highly adjustable to tackle any type of mess that needs cleaning, with three suction modes—standard, medium, and max—that are quickly interchangeable. —

Gabriela Izquierdo, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Jan. 2023

Verb

Using programs like Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, non-artists can type simple requests and, within seconds, get often impressive digital images in return. —

Steve Mollman, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2023 Using tools like Stability AI's Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, or the DreamUp generator on DeviantArt, people can type phrases to create artwork similar to living artists. —

Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2023 Anyone using the system can type their vehicle information on FindMyTowedCar.org and check the location and status of their vehicle. —

Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2022 According to Semrush, Americans also type the word into search engines around 550,000 times a month. —

Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 1 Dec. 2022 Just type up your label and preview it on the LCD screen before printing. —

Olivia Lipski, Good Housekeeping, 2 Nov. 2022 On the map, users can type their city, state or ZIP code into a search bar to see which Indigenous communities resided there. —

Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2022 Shoppers can type in an item, such as red dress or blue shirt, a favorite brand or both and see what’s there. —

Dallas News, 22 Aug. 2022 In recent months, text-to-image systems have advanced to the point that users can type in a phrase, such as an astronaut riding a horse, and receive a surprisingly realistic image in response. —

The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 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