What does typewrote mean?
Typewrote is the simple past tense of typewrite, meaning that someone typed something using a typewriter or another mechanical keyboard. It appears naturally in sentences such as "She typewrote the letter" and often carries a historical or nostalgic atmosphere, recalling a time when documents were produced on typewriters rather than computers or phones. Although the word can describe any act of mechanical typing, its association with traditional typewriters is especially strong, so writers may choose it for stylistic effect even when modern equipment was involved. The related past participle is typewritten, as in "a typewritten manuscript." In current general English, typed is usually preferred because it is shorter and more neutral, while typewrote remains useful when the typewriter imagery or historical context matters.
verbThe simple past tense of typewrite: typed using a typewriter or a similar mechanical keyboard. It is now chiefly used in historical, literary, or nostalgic contexts.
- To type using a typewriter or a similar mechanical keyboard; the simple past tense of typewrite.
"She typewrote the letter before the deadline."
"The novelist typewrote the first draft on an old portable typewriter."
"He typewrote several pages before the machine jammed."
Before email, typewrote was the sound of a page being made one clack at a time.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does typewrote come from?
Typewrote developed in the 19th century from typewrite, a compound of type and write, with the irregular past ending -wrote modeled on write and wrote. The same technological and linguistic tradition produced words such as typewriter and typewriting, while typescript refers to text produced by typing or a typed document. The form typewritten later served as the past participle of typewrite.
Related word forms
How typewrote is actually used
Chiefly literary, historical, or nostalgic. In ordinary modern use, "typed" is more natural and does not necessarily imply a typewriter.
Easily confused with typewrote
Typewrote is the simple past tense used in finite clauses, while typewritten is the past participle and participial adjective, as in "the typewritten page."