# type

/ˈtaɪp/ (US) · /tˈaɪp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/type
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. a category

noun · CEFR A1

a group of people or things that share the same qualities or features.

For teachers: a category or class of people or things sharing common characteristics.

- What type of music do you usually listen to when you study?
- The researchers identified a specific type of soil that was particularly conducive to the growth of rare alpine flora.

### 2. romantic preference

noun · CEFR B1 · Informal

the kind of person that you usually find attractive.

For teachers: a preferred category of person, typically in the context of romantic or physical attraction.

- He is a nice guy, but he is just not really my type.
- She realized after several dates that she didn't actually have a specific type, as her interests were quite eclectic.

### 3. printing/fonts

noun · CEFR B2

printed letters or the style of characters used in a book or document.

For teachers: characters or letters used in printing, or the collective style of such characters. Uncountable in this sense.

- The type in this old book is so small that I can hardly read it.
- The graphic designer selected a bold, sans-serif type to ensure the headline remained legible even from a distance.

### 4. blood group

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

one of the groups that human blood is divided into.

For teachers: a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances.

- The hospital needs more donors with O-negative blood type for emergencies.
- Determining the patient's blood type was the first priority before the surgical team could proceed with the transfusion.

### 5. computing data

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a label that tells a computer what kind of data a value is.

For teachers: a classification that specifies which type of value a variable has and what operations can be performed on it.

- You will get an error if you try to add a number to a text type.
- The compiler threw a warning because the variable type did not match the expected return value of the function.

### 6. to use a keyboard

verb · CEFR A1

to write something using a keyboard on a computer or phone.

For teachers: to write or enter text by pressing keys on a keyboard or typewriter.

- I need to type this essay before the deadline tomorrow morning.
- She can type over eighty words per minute without looking down at the keyboard once.

### 7. to categorize

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to put someone or something into a group based on their features.

For teachers: to assign someone or something to a particular category or class.

- It is unfair to type people based only on their appearance.
- The psychologist attempted to type the subjects based on their responses to the stress-inducing stimuli.

### 8. very

adverb · CEFR C2 · Slang · American English

a slang word used to mean 'very' or 'really'.

For teachers: an intensifier used to mean 'extremely' or 'very'.

- That new movie was type loud in the cinema.
- The party last night was type wild, and I didn't get home until four in the morning.

## Examples

- What type of music do you like?
- The scientist identified a new type of bacteria that can survive in extreme heat.
- While the initial prototype was successful, the engineering team realized that this specific type of battery would not be cost-effective for mass production.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.