Letterpress

//ˈlɛtɚˌpɹɛs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The printing process in which ink is applied to the top surface of a raised image area, which is then pressed against paper to transfer the image. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    printing from a plate with raised characters wordnet
  3. 3
    Printing directly from type, in distinction from printing from plates. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A machine used for such printing. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
relief printingadvance sheetsadvertising matteralbertypebook printingchromotypography

Example

More examples

"The book was an old one—thirty years old, soiled, scribbled wantonly over with a strange name in every variety of enmity to the letterpress, and marked at random with dates twenty years earlier than his own day."

Etymology

From letter + press.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.