font
1 Americannoun
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a receptacle, usually of stone, as in a baptistery or church, containing the water used in baptism.
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a receptacle for holy water; stoup.
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a productive source.
The book is a font of useful tips for travelers.
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the reservoir for oil in a lamp.
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Archaic. a fountain.
noun
noun
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a large bowl for baptismal water, usually mounted on a pedestal
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a receptacle for holy water
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the reservoir for oil in an oil lamp
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archaic a fountain or well
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of font1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English font, fant, from Latin font-, stem of fōns “baptismal font, spring, fountain”
Origin of font2
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French fonte, from Vulgar Latin funditus (unrecorded) “a pouring, molding, casting,” verbal noun from Latin fundere “to pour”; see found 3
Explanation
A font is the specific style of text that's printed on a page or displayed on a computer screen. It's also the name for the container that holds water used in church baptisms. When designers talk about fonts, they mean the design, size, and boldness of letters and symbols. Many people use font and typeface interchangeably, but it's more accurate to distinguish the terms. Times New Roman is a typeface, but a specific version of it, like Times New Roman bold 12pt, is a font — it specifies exactly how the text will look. The religious font has a different root, which it shares with fountain.
Vocabulary lists containing font
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The act featuring Madison Marlow Font and Taylor Dye Kerr is splitting up, at least for the time being.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025
"There were more clubs interested and, to be honest, with better offers than Liverpool, but not the kind of project that Olivia wanted," said Batlle Y Font.
From BBC • Sep. 6, 2025
“The obvious places to look for new physics are the places we don’t fully understand, like dark matter and dark energy,” said Dr. Andreea Font, a computational astrophysicist at Liverpool John Moores University in England.
From Salon • Dec. 9, 2024
“I designed the jazz-font default that’s included in the latest version of Finale, and I included compatibility for the music-symbol fonts from Standard Music Font Layout.”
From Slate • Sep. 26, 2024
Neither Anza nor Font has particular comment concerning the one and one-half leagues, which brought them to the summit of Willow Pass, overlooking the area of Pittsburg.
From The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by Cook, Sherburne Friend
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
