Meaning & use
printing press
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a machine that presses ink onto paper to produce books, newspapers, or other printed material
Grammar: Countable: one printing press, several printing presses. Often used with 'invent', 'operate', or 'run'.
Patterns
- operate a printing press
- invent the printing press
- run a printing press
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15th century.
The old printing press in the museum still works.
Newspapers were once produced on a huge printing press that ran all night.
Word forms
| plural | printing presses |
|---|
Common combinations
- invent the printing press
- Gutenberg did not invent the printing press alone, but he improved it greatly.
- operate a printing press
- It takes training to operate a printing press safely.
- a modern printing press
- A modern printing press can produce thousands of pages per hour.
- the invention of the printing press
- The invention of the printing press changed how information spread.
Synonyms and how they differ
- press
- Short form often used in context, but 'press' can also mean newspapers or journalists in general.
Word family
- print verb
- To produce text or images on paper.
- printer noun
- A person who operates a printing press, or a machine that prints.
Commonly confused: printing press or press?
printing press vs press
'Press' can mean the machine, but it also refers to newspapers and journalists. 'Printing press' is specific to the machine.
Practice
The ___ made it possible to produce books quickly and cheaply.
Choose one answer.
'Printing press' is the correct compound noun. 'Print press' is not standard, and the other options are not used in English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “printing press”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.