Meaning & use
electric typewriter
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableold-fashioned
A typewriter run on mains power, whose motor strikes the keys so that typing needs only a light touch.
Grammar: Countable: an electric typewriter, two electric typewriters.
Patterns
- type on an electric typewriter
My grandmother wrote all her letters on an electric typewriter with a humming motor.
The office replaced its manual machines with electric typewriters in the 1960s.
He found his old electric typewriter in the attic and wondered whether it still worked.
Word forms
| plural | electric typewriters |
|---|
Common combinations
- type on an electric typewriter
- She typed her thesis on an electric typewriter.
- IBM electric typewriter
- A classic IBM electric typewriter sat on the desk.
- plug in an electric typewriter
- He plugged in the electric typewriter and waited for the hum.
- vintage electric typewriter
- The shop sold a vintage electric typewriter.
- replace the ribbon
- The electric typewriter needs a new ribbon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- manual typewriter
- A manual typewriter works with finger pressure alone, so it is the older mechanical alternative.
- word processor
- A word processor has a screen and memory for editing text, which an electric typewriter lacks.
- typewriter
- Typewriter is the broader term and covers both manual and electric machines.
Opposites
Word family
- typewriter noun
- a machine that prints letters on paper when keys are pressed
- typewritten adjective
- produced on a typewriter
- typist noun
- a person who types, especially as a job
- typing noun
- the activity of using a keyboard
Practice
What is the main difference between an electric typewriter and a manual one?
Choose one answer.
An electric typewriter has a motor that makes typing lighter. It has no screen, no online storage and no color printing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “electric typewriter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.