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Glite Dictionary
typewriter ribbon

typewriter ribbon

1 5.1
A long narrow strip of fabric covered with ink used in a typewriter to print letters on paper
  • noun
  • /ˈtaɪpˌraɪtər ˈrɪbən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cinta de máquina de escribir
  • I can remember when no grad student's desk was complete without a small bottle of white-out for correcting typos and a spare typewriter ribbon or two.
  • a new typewriter ribbon

Examples

  • Cold coffee dregs in the cup, a new pack of cigarettes, the typewriter ribbon needs replacing, and that tasteless soup for lunch again; I tolerate it in humble gratitude, hoping that a time will come when I'll finally learn to enjoy it.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • USED TYPEWRITER RIBBON!

    Romantic Comedy (1983)

  • Treat yourself to a new typewriter ribbon.

    Endgame (2009)

  • The shoes were six extra typewriter ribbons.

    A Foreign Affair (1948)

  • - I've got to get typewriter ribbon.

    Mank (2020)

  • So whether it's an old Model T... ...or a typewriter ribbon... ...or going to Chicago to find work... ...we can't let it beat us, sweetheart.

    Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)

  • YOU BOUGHT ME A TYPEWRITER RIBBON, AND IT BROUGHT LUCK.

    Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

  • Cold coffee dregs in the cup, a new pack of cigarettes, the typewriter ribbon needs replacing, and that tasteless soup for lunch again; I tolerate it in humble gratitude, hoping I'll learn to enjoy it someday.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I recently purchased a new typewriter ribbon to ensure my letters are printed clearly.

  • He replaced the old typewriter ribbon before starting his final paper for university.

Synonyms

ribbon
vstypewriter ribbon
154 1.0

A long narrow strip of fabric used for tying, decorating, or carrying ink in machines

is an inked strip used to transfer characters onto paper

How Inked

typewriter ribbon
  • Archaic
1 5.1
faded
2.1

Surface Forms

typewriter ribbon singular
typewriter ribbons plural

Morphology

typewriter + ribbon

The meaning is directly compositional: 'typewriter' (a machine for printing characters) specifies the kind of 'ribbon' (a fabric strip), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is the ribbon used in a typewriter, typically inked. This noun–noun compound follows regular formation patterns and is non-idiomatic, so it should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Typewriter ribbon names the long cloth strip with 'ink' used inside a typewriter. When a key hits, the paper presses the inked ribbon and the 'letters' appear on the page, so the name means the inked strip that makes the letters.