Skip to main content
fax

fax

123 2.8
A machine that sends and receives printed documents over a phone line
  • noun
  • /fæks/
translation icon : máquina de fax
  • Discrepancies are corrected via telephone or fax communication with the local office.
  • a fax machine
  • a fax modem

And a couple weeks later, she saw the light blinking on her fax machine and listened to it.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Indeed, I had to resort to telephone and fax numbers for my trip.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Can I use your fax machine?

  • I have a fax machine.

  • A fax is coming in for you.

  • Often, a quick phone call or fax may be faster than email.

    Academic text (1993)
  • We just got a fax.

  • A single sheet of paper comes out of the fax machine, face down.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I'll have direct fax capability and the ability to move documents back and forth.

    Academic text (1993)
  • You're not gonna die without a phone and fax machine.

  • The office has a reliable fax machine that can send documents quickly.

Synonyms

facsimile
vsfax
  • Archaic
1 7.4

A machine that sends and receives copies of documents over a phone line

is the everyday device term rather than the broader system sense
facsimile machine
vsfax
  • Archaic
1 4.9

A machine that copies a document and sends it by phone

is the common, informal name for the same machine

How Fast

messaging
  • Texting
44 2.6
email
  • Texting
220 1.0
telex machine
  • Archaic
1 9.6
fax
123 2.8
letter
1.0

Surface Forms

fax singular
faxes plural

Etymology

Fax comes from the longer word facsimile, from Latin fac + simile meaning 'make similar'. So a fax machine makes a copy and sends it over the phone.