typewriter
Americannoun
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a machine for writing mechanically in letters and characters like those produced by printers' types.
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Printing. a type style that gives the appearance of typewritten copy.
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Older Use. a typist.
noun
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a keyboard machine for writing mechanically in characters resembling print. It may be operated entirely by hand ( manual typewriter ) or be powered by electricity ( electric typewriter )
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printing a style of type resembling typescript
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of typewriter
Explanation
A typewriter is an old-fashioned machine for printing letters, school assignments, and other written works. Each key on a typewriter prints a single letter, number, or symbol in ink on a piece of paper. There are similarities between a computer keyboard and a typewriter — you use both by pressing one key at a time. But instead of watching a cursor move across a screen as you type (moving backwards easily, automatically deleting mistakes), a typewriter makes a physical mark on paper. Instead of printing your letter out (or emailing it), when you use a typewriter, you create the final product as you go, simply pulling it out of the typewriter when you finish.
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.
See Examples For:
For Nancy’s 70th birthday, Debbie bought her friend a necklace with a pendant holding a Shift Lock key from a typewriter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
She also turned what used to be a gun closet into a “vault” filled with family heirlooms, including a typewriter, perfume, photos, jewelry and a flask.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
Did you type that on a MacBook or a Remington typewriter?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
The typewriter as a teaching tool in the age of AI.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
In the great scheme of things, the typewriter is not nearly as loud as he makes it out to be, but there's no use arguing with him.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
And even though they’re on deadline, they’re afforded ample time to collect data and conduct interviews before returning to their typewriters.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026
The same thing happened when assembly lines reshaped manufacturing, when robotics entered the factory floor, when computers displaced typewriters, and when the internet placed a printing press on every desk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Like turntables, typewriters, tiki bars and film cameras, these midcentury motels are back, seducing millennials, Gen Z and baby boomers like the character Johnny Rose on the beloved TV series “Schitt’s Creek.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
Videos on Swift’s social media accounts, showing antique typewriters and globes with pins, were dissected for clues about her music.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
But I still remember when typewriters were useful, the dawn of the Commodore 64, and days when a song you loved would have its moment on the radio and then disappear into the nothing.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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.
