What does typewrite mean?
Typewrite is a verb meaning to write using a typewriter or, by extension, to enter text on a keyboard. It can be transitive, as in “she typewrote the letter,” or used without an object to describe the activity of typing. The word belongs to the historical culture of typewriters, clerical work, carbon copies, and professional typists. Although it once had a straightforward practical use, it is now mainly dated, literary, nostalgic, or deliberately old-fashioned. Most modern speakers use the shorter and more flexible verb “type” instead. Typewrite is also occasionally used when the historical method or object matters—for example, describing a document produced on a mechanical typewriter rather than a computer. The compound combines “type” and “write,” reflecting the process by which a typewriter impressed printed characters onto paper. Today, its chief interest is historical: it captures a recognizable stage in the development of written communication and office work before word processors and email became dominant.
verbTo write something using a typewriter; by extension, to type it on a keyboard.
- To write a letter, manuscript, or other text using a typewriter; more broadly, to enter text using a keyboard.
"She typewrote the letter on the office typewriter before the deadline."
"The clerk typewrote the report and placed a carbon copy in the file."
"Much of the correspondence was typewritten and bound into a single volume."
Before email, office workers had a profession, the typist, and a machine, the typewriter; “typewrite” preserves the process in one verb.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does typewrite come from?
Typewrite was formed in English during the nineteenth century by combining “type” with “write,” alongside the development of typewriters and the profession of typing. The related noun “typewriter” names the machine used to perform this action, while “typewriting” names the process or resulting text. The “type” element ultimately derives through Latin from Greek typos, meaning a model, pattern, or imprint, although in typewrite it refers specifically to printed characters.
Related word forms
How typewrite is actually used
The verb is now dated or nostalgic. In ordinary contemporary usage, “type” or “write” is more natural, while “typewrite” may be chosen specifically to evoke historical office work or typewriter-era culture.
Easily confused with typewrite
Typewrite is the verb meaning to write using a typewriter, whereas typewriter is the machine that performs this action.