dot-matrix printer

American  

[daht may-triks] / ˈdɑt ˌmeɪ trɪks /

noun

1. Computers. a printer that prints by impact, forming letters, numbers, and other characters by pressing tiny dots onto an inked ribbon against paper, once in common use but now largely obsolete outside of certain specialized usage.

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dot-matrix printer British  

noun

1. computing a printer in which each character is produced as an array of dots by a printhead

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dot-matrix printer Scientific  

1. An impact printer that prints text and graphic images by hammering the ends of pins against an ink ribbon. This produces characters or images made up of a matrix, or pattern, of dots.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dot-matrix printer

The summer’s unpleasant cicada infestation, meanwhile, is a stark reminder that his preferred droning screech comes from his dot-matrix printer, spitting out keyboard-symbol drawings he makes for customers who send him cash.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2026

The dot-matrix printer broke, so employees write out membership cards by hand.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 18, 2019

I bought a dot-matrix printer and it was like I had my own printing press.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2018

They had the most horrifically outdated website I could imagine: annoying music, fonts only a dot-matrix printer could love and a cursor that was trailed by a half-dozen swirling blue dots.

From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2015

Cables snaked out of the back of the machine, leading to an audiocassette recorder, a small color television, a dot-matrix printer, and a 300-baud modem.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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Related Words

• laser printer

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