typography
Americannoun
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the art or process of printing with type.
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the work of setting and arranging types and of printing from them.
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the general character or appearance of printed matter.
noun
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the art, craft, or process of composing type and printing from it
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the selection and planning of type for printed publications
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of typography
1635–45; < New Latin typographia, equivalent to Greek týpo ( s ) type + graphía -graphy
Explanation
Use the noun typography to describe the art of putting words into print. You might admire the typography of a concert poster that uses an elegant font, for example. When typography began, the process involved choosing the letters, arranging them, and printing with a press on paper. Today, almost anyone can practice typography by using a computer to design and print flyers, magazines, posters, and more. Don't confuse typography with its near-homonym, topography, which is a branch of Earth science. You'll recognize typography by the Greek typos, which means "dent or impression."
Vocabulary lists containing typography
Journalism Jargon
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"Stanford University Commencement Address" by Steve Jobs
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Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning
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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.
Typography, McCulloch writes, does not simply conjure the author’s mood.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 26, 2019
Typography is hand-drawn in ink, scanned and placed on top.
From The Guardian • Apr. 13, 2019
I recently collaborated with Post Typography to create a custom generator for an identity project they had.
From The Verge • Mar. 29, 2019
He began to see hand-drawn sound effects and the other details he was laboring over as “a new artistic puzzle that I could delve into. Typography started becoming something more integrated into my life.”
From Slate • Sep. 24, 2017
Life and Typography of William Caxton, England's first printer, with evidence of his typographical connection with Colard Mansion, the printer at Bruges.
From A Catalogue of Books in English Later than 1700 (Vol 1 of 3) Forming a portion of the library of Robert Hoe by Various
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.
