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

Ravanelli, reportedly the highest-paid man in the league, scored at almost the same rate he bemoaned the club's professionalism in the Italian press, suggesting Juventus coaches were having to fax him fitness plans.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 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

AT&T didn’t invent fax machines, but it should have.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

The results were transistors, solar cells, lasers, fax machines and cellphone networks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 19, 2025

The clerk was calling to let me know that Judge Norton had ruled in the McMillian case—she needed my fax number to send me a copy of the ruling.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• copy
• transmission