Xerox
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Explanation
When you use a copy machine, you make a xerox. Some college classes require you to buy expensive textbooks, while others provide you with binders full of xeroxes. The word xerox is trademarked, kind of like Frisbee or Kleenex. The word was coined in the 1950s, from xerography, "printing without the use of liquid chemicals," which has a Greek root, xeros, "dry," and an ending borrowed from photography. You can use xerox as a noun or a verb: "You should xerox your ID and keep a copy of it on file in case you lose your wallet."
Vocabulary lists containing xerox
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.
“We view the current environment as an opportunity,” TPG Chief Executive Jon Winkelried said on the firm’s quarterly earnings call, citing deals such as a $450 million debt transaction with Xerox.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
He would later leave Xerox to join Apple.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
Goldberg, like others at PARC, was frustrated at the lack of understanding by Xerox brass how to exploit PARC’s innovations for corporate customers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
McDermott applied that philosophy while serving in a sales role at Xerox, where he brought in more business than many of his peers.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
Xerox created a new, better machine only to have it sell less well than the inferior older ones—until they figured out the salesmen got a bigger commission for selling the older one.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
