print

1 of 3

noun

1
a
: a mark made by pressure : impression
b
: something impressed with a print or formed in a mold
2
a
: printed state or form
b
: the printing industry
3
b
prints plural : printed publications
4
: printed letters : type
5
a(1)
: a copy made by printing
(2)
: a reproduction of an original work of art (such as a painting) made by a photomechanical process
(3)
: an original work of art (such as a woodcut, etching, or lithograph) intended for graphic reproduction and produced by or under the supervision of the artist who designed it
b
: cloth with a pattern or figured design applied by printing
also : an article of such cloth
c
: a photographic or motion-picture copy
especially : one made from a negative

print

2 of 3

verb

printed; printing; prints

transitive verb

1
a
: to impress something in or on
b
: to stamp (something, such as a mark) in or on something
2
a
: to make a copy of by impressing paper against an inked printing surface
b(1)
: to impress (something, such as wallpaper) with a design or pattern
(2)
: to impress (a pattern or design) on something
c
: to publish in print
d
: print out
also : to display on a surface (such as a computer screen) for viewing
3
: to write in letters shaped like those of ordinary roman text type
4
: to make (a positive picture) on a sensitized photographic surface from a negative or a positive

intransitive verb

1
a
: to work as a printer
b
: to produce printed matter
2
: to produce something in printed form
3
: to write or hand-letter in imitation of unjoined printed characters

print

3 of 3

adjective

: of, relating to, or writing for printed publications
print journalists
Phrases
in print
: procurable from the publisher
out of print
: not procurable from the publisher

Examples of print in a Sentence

Noun What is the print size of your book? an exhibit of 16th-century German prints Verb We printed 50 invitations before we ran out of ink. The new machine prints 30 pages per minute. Your tickets are being printed now. a slogan printed on a bumper sticker Your tickets are printing now. This printer allows you to print on both sides of a sheet of paper. They printed 10,000 copies of the book's new edition. I'm surprised they printed that cartoon in the paper. Her picture was printed in a magazine last month.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Kirsten Dunst recently donned one watercolor print to a charity event. Merle Ginsberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 Amazon reviewers praise them for being true-to-size and machine washable, in addition to having an adorable color and print. Terri Peters, Parents, 18 Mar. 2024 Sports Illustrated will continue operations after the company that owns the brand agreed with a new publisher for its print and digital products. Joe Reedy, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 Guests can’t help but smile when being served a meal on this pretty calico print. Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 18 Mar. 2024 Here, the stairs are carpeted in leopard print, a nod to the previous owners. Max Berlinger Stefan Ruiz, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Sports Illustrated is getting a lifeline that will keep the iconic title in print after appearing to be on the brink of a closure. Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 The country’s media landscape is among the most vibrant in Asia, with more than 40 TV news channels and as many as 700 newspapers in print. Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Mar. 2024 But companies like the Times had not yet bothered to translate that function effectively from print to web (or app), so others had taken it from them—and made billions of dollars. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
The technology behind modern ACs hasn’t changed significantly since 1902, when a 25-year-old engineer named Willis Carrier invented a mechanical unit to control the temperature and humidity in a printing plant in New York. Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024 The lot number is printed on the back panel of the plastic pouches. Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024 Some publishers in the UK chose not to print the picture out of respect, but that didn't stop the rumor mill from starting up again. Elle Turner, Glamour, 15 Mar. 2024 Next to her brother, True wore a matching set printed with little hearts. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 The lamp is 3-D printed and uses a biodegradable proprietary material from Gantri made from sugarcane. Marques Harper, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 There was an understanding that paparazzi pictures of the princess would not be printed while Middleton was recovering from surgery. Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 Last year, the Hoffmann Family of Companies purchased Maurer Publishing, LLC, publisher of the Mackinac Island Town Crier and the St. Ignace News, and a printing shop in northern Michigan, according to the April 3 edition St. Ignace News. Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024 The following year the popular cannabis publication printed that flyer and a new observance was born. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 11 Mar. 2024
Adjective
In new research reported in a Feb. 1 paper published on the arXiv pre-print server, the team used data from NASA's inoperative Kepler spacecraft, its secondary mission K2 and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to identify K2-415b. Julia Musto, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2023 Working in the metaverse for an extended period of time can lead to higher anxiety, a perception of higher workloads, and even adverse physical effects for some employees, tech outlet New Scientist reported, citing a recent study published on pre-print database arXiv on June 8. Tristan Bove, Fortune, 21 June 2022 Experts got partial answers from a pre-print publication posted online in August by a separate research team. Riley Black, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2020 Many who are hospitalized could become long haulers, study suggests About three-quarters of people hospitalized could become long haulers, according to a paper uploaded to the pre-print server medRxiv on August 14 without having yet been vetted by outside experts or accepted for publication. Steve Almasy, CNN, 6 Oct. 2020 The results were published online on arXiv, the pre-print server. Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 17 Feb. 2023 In March, researchers at the UK's Office of National Statistics posted a study on a pre-print server that was extremely similar. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 11 Oct. 2022 This revelation comes from a study posted to the pre-print server bioRxiv earlier this month. Marisa Sloan, Discover Magazine, 22 Nov. 2021 The most common are neurological, such as brain-fog and headache, according to a pre-print study by King's College London. Luke Taylor, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'print.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English prente, from Anglo-French, from preint, prient, past participle of priendre to press, from Latin premere — more at press

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Adjective

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of print was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near print

Cite this Entry

“Print.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/print. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

print

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a mark made by pressure
b
: something that has been stamped with an impression or formed in a mold
a print of butter
2
a
: printed state or form
put a manuscript into print
b
: printed matter
c
: printed letters
3
: a picture, copy, or design made by printing (as from an engraving or a photographic negative)
4
a
: cloth with a printed pattern
b
: an article of such cloth

print

2 of 2 verb
1
: to put or stamp something in or on
2
a
: to make a copy of by pressing paper against an inked surface (as type or an engraving)
b
: to stamp with a design by pressure
print wallpaper
c
: to publish in printed form
print a newspaper
d
: to write or cause to be written on a surface (as a computer display screen) for viewing
the computer will print the message at the top of the screen
e
3
: to write in separate letters like those made by a typewriter
4
: to make a picture from a photographic negative

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