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• steno
  steno

  noun

  a stenographer.
• steno-
  steno-

  a combining form meaning “narrow,” “close,” used in the formation of compound words.
• steno.
  steno.

  abbreviation

  stenographer.

steno

¹ American  

[sten-oh] / ˈstɛn oʊ /

noun

• stenos
  plural

1. a stenographer.

2. the art or practice of a stenographer; stenography.

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steno- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “narrow,” “close,” used in the formation of compound words.

   stenopetalous.

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steno. ³ American  

Or stenog

abbreviation

1. stenographer.

2. stenographic.

3. stenography.

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steno- ¹ British  

combining form

1. indicating narrowness or contraction

   stenography

   stenosis

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steno ² British  

/ ˈstɛnəʊ /

noun

1. informal short for stenographer

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Usage

What does steno- mean? Steno- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “narrow” or "close."  It is used in a variety of medical, scientific, and other technical terms, especially in biology. Steno- comes from the Greek stenós, meaning “narrow.”

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stenos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of steno¹

1910–15; by shortening; see steno-

Origin of steno-²

From the Greek word stenós

Origin of steno.³

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10; by shortening

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

steno stenos

So, to keep himself organized, Horton started writing everything down in a steno pad notebook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2022

I am me and they are them, and the two of us are locked in a completely imaginary dialogue on my yellow steno pad:

From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2018

Politico’s Jake Sherman and I stood there for an hour or so, steno pads in hand and trading stories, as we waited for Boehner to appear.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2015

It was an alarmingly realistic and life-size sculpture of a woman in an office chair, head bowed, writing on a steno pad, as though prepared to document the presence of anyone who approached.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 13, 2015

She refused a biscuit each time Mrs. Sen extended the plate in her direction, and asked a long series of questions, the answers to which she recorded on a steno pad.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

They have the rough, "found" beauty of stenos or inner-city cheerleaders, and they run through their number with artless urgency, as if they realize that this is their one fluky shot at stardom.

From Time Magazine Archive

You mustn't get Pearlie mixed with the common or garden variety of stenos.

From Buttered Side Down: Stories by Edna Ferber

The word stenography is derived from the Greek adjective stenos meaning "narrow" or "close," and the Greek verb graphein signifying "to write."

From Great Inventions and Discoveries by Willis Duff Piercy