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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have faxedperfect
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has faxedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been faxingperfect progressive
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are faxingprogressive
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faxessingular 3rd person
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is faxingprogressive 3rd person singular
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faxingparticiple
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has been faxingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am faxingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had faxedperfect
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were faxingprogressive plural
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faxedsimple
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had been faxingperfect progressive
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faxedparticiple
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was faxingprogressive singular
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.
Fax machines - formally known as facsimile machines - used to be a familiar fixture in offices as well as schools, hospitals and police stations across the country.
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
That is daunting — but director Fax Bahr and producer CC Goldwater, who are in post-production on a documentary about Wilson’s life called “Waterkeeper,” believe spreading her message will help.
From Salon • Dec. 5, 2024
Fax machines are still commonplace, and many Japanese conduct much of their business in person, with cash.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 24, 2022
Washington and its suburbs spawned their own Ramones, their own Damned, bands with names like Bad Brains, Teen Idles, Tru Fax & the Insaniacs, Minor Threat, Madhouse and Rites of Spring.
From Washington Post • Oct. 10, 2022
Jonathan Fax was there and his new wife; the one with a very grave head, the other with a very light one, and faces accordingly.
From Say and Seal, Volume II by Warner, Susan
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.
