fax
Americannoun
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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Also: fax machine. short for facsimile machine
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short for facsimile transmission
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a message or document sent by fax
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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faxsimple
-
faxessimple
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have faxedperfect
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has faxedperfect
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am faxingprogressive
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are faxingprogressive
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is faxingprogressive
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have been faxingperfect progressive
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has been faxingperfect progressive
Past
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faxedsimple
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had faxedperfect
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was faxingprogressive
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were faxingprogressive
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had been faxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fax
By shortening and respelling
Explanation
A fax is a machine that sends a scanned paper copy using a telephone line, and it's also what you call the document itself. When you send someone a fax, their fax machine prints it out for them. You might need to send a fax when you're signing an important document long distance: for example, a lease or loan agreement might need to be signed, scanned, and sent as a fax. The word is a verb, too: "I'll fax that to you right away." It's short for facsimile, "exact copy," from the Latin root fac simile, "make similar." The growth of the Internet means that faxes aren't used as often as they once were.
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.
See Examples For:
Later, he mounted exhibitions with art created by photocopier and fax machine, carefully building vast pictures from single sheets of paper.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
“We fax over the power of attorney, the medical documents, and start acting immediately. These are the gaps no one plans for.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
The bad news is that just like your fax machine, a lot of the key components of that rally aren’t around today.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
U.S. auditing rules—which require that a person physically verify inventory—contain scant mentions of AI and still referenced fax machines until recently.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
The other half is convinced that Luke Potter will become a verb like Xerox or fax.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
Mobile phone reception is patchy outside cities and people are still known to use faxes!
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2025
Physicians have been getting emails and faxes saying, “‘We’ve got Botox for cheaper, we’ve got filler for cheaper’ — and it’s all these unregulated places that don’t have any FDA oversight,” Johnson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
Regence and Premera said they do fulfill those requirements, contacting providers through email, mail, phone calls and faxes to seek updated information, including whether they are accepting new patients.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2023
They are continuing their work, communicating with the senator through the phone, memos and faxes.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2023
Chess players the world over were following the game through faxes and telephone contact, and their collective question was answered at Fischer’s fiftieth move.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
It made a fortune in international long-distance calls in the 1980s as businesses faxed documents, bypassing FedEx.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
The email, the outlet said, was faxed from a North American toll-free number that also appeared in court documents.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
A number for the Hebei publicity department rang unanswered, and a faxed request for comment did not go through because the line was busy.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 18, 2024
The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to Reuters' faxed request for comment.
From Reuters ● Sep. 1, 2023
Margaret faxed the letter to Dad early on Sunday.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
Footballers' agents used faxing to secure the transfer of players, although the method has been retired by the Premier League.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2022
Borat is faxing back and forth with his premier.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 24, 2020
Sandler wrote the movie in 1993 with his former college roommate Tim Herlihy, faxing 10 pages at a time back and forth between New York and Los Angeles.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2019
Microsoft Windows 10 is an example of an operating system that comes with free faxing software built in.
From Encyclopedia.com ● Feb. 5, 2018
With the legal force of the Cache County Attorney’s Office, Rindlisbacher had been faxing Verizon in late January and early February.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
