a person, thing, or event that represents or symbolizes another, esp. another that it is thought will appear later; symbol; token; sign
Rare a distinguishing mark, sign, or impress
the general form, structure, plan, style, etc. characterizing or distinguishing the members of a class or group
a kind, class, or group having distinguishing characteristics in common [a new type of airplane, an animal of the dog type]: in informal usage, often used elliptically immediately preceding the noun [a new type airplane]
a person, animal, or thing that is representative of, or has the distinctive characteristics of, a class or group; typical individual or instance
a perfect example; model; pattern; archetype
Informal an odd or eccentric person; character
Agric. the combination of characters of an animal or breed that make it most suitable for a particular use: beef type, dairy type
Biol.
the single specimen designated as the one on which the original description and name of a taxon have been based
a rectangular piece of metal or, esp. formerly, wood, with a raised letter, figure, etc. in reverse on its upper end which, when inked and pressed against a piece of paper or other material, as in a printing press or on a typewriter, leaves an ink impression of its face; also, such pieces collectively or the characters printed from them
a character or characters formed electronically and produced by a computer printer
photographic reproductions of print used in photocomposition