printer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that prints, especially a person whose occupation is printing.
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Computers. an output device that produces a paper copy of alphanumeric or graphic data.
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an instrument that automatically records telegraphic messages by means of a printing mechanism activated by incoming signals.
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Movies. a photographic machine through which either the negative or positive of a master print can be run, together with unexposed film, to make a duplicate.
noun
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a person or business engaged in printing
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a machine or device that prints
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computing an output device for printing results on paper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of printer
Explanation
A printer might be a person whose job is to make copies of printed material, or a machine that’s hooked up to a computer and prints on paper. With a 3D printer, you can even “print” a spatula! A 3D printer creates a replica of an image sent to it from a computer, whether it’s a car part or a spatula. Most people have the regular kind of printer, though, that they use to print things like essays or articles. Or, you might hire a printer to make your wedding invitations. The original printers, circa 1500, were people who operated a moveable type printing press (invented in 1450), printing books and other texts in small quantities.
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.
They include a Cloud Printer, which prints digital orders directly in kitchens to reduce confusion and allow chefs to fulfill them immediately.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Master Printer Bill Berkuta prints an order for a customer.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2024
Printer Stuart Blaze, from Wellington in Shropshire, produced the items, making sure they were off-centre just like the pub, which was affected by subsidence due to mining in the area in the 19th Century.
From BBC • Nov. 11, 2023
Printer Dale Miller silk-screened roughly 100 copies each during the program’s production period from 1938 to 1941.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 23, 2023
Printer and publisher Mathew Carey watched sadly as “almost every hour in the day, carts, waggons, coaches, and chairs, were to be seen transporting families & furniture to the country in every direction.”
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
