fax

American  

[faks] / fæks /

noun

1. facsimile.

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adjective

1. facsimile.

verb (used with object)

1. to transmit a facsimile of (printed matter, photographs, or the like) electronically.

   Fax the information to all our branch offices.

fax British  

/ fæks /

noun

1. Also: fax machine.  short for facsimile machine

2. short for facsimile transmission

3. a message or document sent by fax

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verb

1. (tr) to send (a message, document, etc) by fax

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

They have to rely on patients to recount their medical histories or wait hours or even days for another clinician to send a DVD, a fax — or a photocopy.

From MarketWatch • May 4, 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

The result is chaos, and a few too many jokes about young people not knowing how to work a fax machine or manage paper.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

It was a work phone with a small touch screen, email and fax capabilities and a scheduler; it weighed a full pound.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Salim has not yet written the fax to his brother-in-law.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Related Words

• copy
• transmission