carbon paper

[kahr-buhn pey-per]

noun

1. paper faced with a preparation of carbon or other material, used between two sheets of plain paper in order to reproduce on the lower sheet that which is written or typed on the upper.

2. Also called carbon tissue. a paper for making photographs by the carbon process.

carbon paper

noun

1. Often shortened to: carbon. a thin sheet of paper coated on one side with a dark waxy pigment, often containing carbon, that is transferred by the pressure of writing or of typewriter keys onto the copying surface below

2. another name for carbon tissue

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbon paper¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The advent of carbon paper—with its effortless ability to create multiple copies—added to a national sense of pride and wonder at this new machine’s impact.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I discovered her body in all those paragraphs on second-sheet carbon paper.

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The scientists then adhere the nanoparticles to carbon paper that is hydrophilic, or attracted to water molecules.

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The term “carbon copy” refers to the old carbon paper method of making copies that was popular before copying machines.

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And my sister once used a sheet of carbon paper as Ken’s blanket, despoiling his face with permanent blue ink.

Read more on Los Angeles Times