typeface

American  

[tahyp-feys] / ˈtaɪpˌfeɪs /

noun

1. face.

---

typeface British  

/ ˈtaɪpˌfeɪs /

noun

1. another name for face

---

Etymology

Origin of typeface

First recorded in 1900–05; type + face

Explanation

A typeface is a specific design of letters and numbers, either in print or on a computer. When you choose a typeface for your resume, you'll want something that's businesslike and easy to read. You can think of typeface as another term for font (the two words are often used interchangeably), although it's more accurate to call a typeface a "font family," a group of fonts with similar designs. Typefaces have official names like Comic Sans, Garamond, and Helvetica. If you dream of inventing your own typefaces, you may want to become a type designer. You'll be adding to the thousands of typefaces in use today!

Example Sentences

Serif had spent decades in typeface oblivion as startups, luxury brands and food companies adopted blocky letters.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

After the organic success of Charli XCX’s “Brat” led to brand accounts co-opting that album’s lime green color scheme and sans-serif typeface, it’s no surprise that the trend is continuing with Swift.

From Salon • Aug. 20, 2025

Here, those words are embroidered across the front of an unstructured, six-panel canvas ball cap in a typeface design created by Elisa Wong to brand the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2024

But he believes that most readers will not care about the typeface used for the bulk of the book.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2024

There were memos in the distinctive typeface used by the White House.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• font