noun

font

noun

A set of letters and characters sharing one consistent design, style, and weight, used in printing or on a screen.

"The report looked more professional after switching to a cleaner font."

"She chose a bold, playful font for the poster title."

A basin in a church that holds water used for baptism.

"The baby was carried to the font for the christening."

A source or origin of something, especially knowledge (literary).

"The old professor was a font of obscure historical facts."

How to Use Font

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishMost commonly, the style of lettering used in text on a page or screen; also a church basin, or figuratively a "source" of something.

Common mistake

Don't confuse with "fount," an older British spelling still used for the "source" sense, e.g. "a fount of wisdom."

Easily confused with

fount

Common pairings

change the font font size a font of knowledge

Word Forms

fonted past tense, fonts plural, fonts plural, fonts plural, Fonts plural, fonts singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The report looked more professional after switching to a cleaner _____.

Etymology

The typography sense traces to the same Latin root, fons ("fountain, source"), as the church-basin sense — both describe something a stream flows or is "cast" from.

Rhymes for font

wont pont mont front Dupont Dumont Lamont affront Vermont upfront Belmont Valmont

See all rhymes for font →