type

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a subdivision of a particular kind of thing

   what type of sculpture do you prefer?

2. 2
   noun

   all of the tokens of the same symbol

   the word `element' contains five different types of character

3. 3
   noun

   printed characters

   small type is hard to read

4. 4
   verb

   identify as belonging to a certain type

   Such people can practically be typed

5. 5
   verb

   write by means of a keyboard with types

   type the acceptance letter, please

6. 6
   noun

   A grouping based on shared characteristics; a class.

   This type of plane can handle rough weather more easily than that type of plane.

7. 7
   noun

   An individual considered typical of its class, one regarded as typifying a certain profession, environment, etc.

   Look, with these gals that want to buy it, most of them are older, dignified. Social Register types, you know what I mean? They can't be trotting down to Times Square to pick out the merchandise. They got to have some kind of, uh, middleman.

8. 8
   noun

   An individual that represents the ideal for its class; an embodiment.

   Altogether he was the type of low ruffianism — as ill-conditioned a looking brute as ever ginned a hare.

Etymology

From Middle English type (“symbol, figure, emblem”), from Latin typus, from Ancient Greek τύπος (túpos, “mark, impression, type”), from τύπτω (túptō, “to strike, beat”).