What does faxing mean?
Faxing is the process of sending a copy of a document over a telephone line using a facsimile, or fax, machine. The device scans each page, converts the image into audio tones, and transmits them to a receiving machine that prints an identical copy. The word functions both as a noun, describing the act of such transmission ('faxing takes a minute per page'), and as the present participle of the verb 'to fax'. Once the dominant way to send signed documents quickly between offices, faxing has largely been displaced by email and digital document sharing, yet it survives in fields such as medicine, law, and government, where it is still regarded by some as more secure or legally binding than electronic mail. As a result, 'faxing' now carries a distinctly retro connotation, evoking the office culture of the 1980s and 1990s even as the practice quietly continues worldwide.
The act or process of transmitting a document electronically over a telephone line via facsimile.
"Faxing remained the firm's preferred method for sending signed contracts."
Often used with a definite article when referring to a specific act ('the faxing of the report').
Present participle of 'to fax': to transmit a document by facsimile.
"I'm faxing the purchase order to headquarters right now."
Fax technology predates the telephone by decades — the first fax was sent in 1843, making 'faxing' older than the phone call itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of faxing
'Faxing' derives from 'fax', itself a mid-20th-century abbreviation of 'facsimile', a term borrowed from Latin 'fac simile', meaning 'make alike' or 'make similar'. Facsimile entered English in the 17th century for exact copies of texts and artworks, and was applied to telegraphic image transmission in the 19th century. When compact fax machines became widespread in offices during the 1970s and 1980s, the clipped form 'fax' gave rise to the verb 'to fax' and its present participle 'faxing'.
Related word forms
How faxing is actually used
Register is neutral to slightly dated; 'faxing' carries a mildly old-fashioned connotation today, though it remains standard terminology in offices that still use fax machines, especially in healthcare, law, and government.