Definition of "type"

type

/taɪp/

noun
plural types
1. A grouping based on shared characteristics; a class.
  Quotations
  Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are diamond, ruby and sapphire, emerald and other gem forms of the mineral beryl, chrysoberyl, tanzanite, tsavorite, topaz and jade.
  2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 128
2. An individual considered typical of its class, one regarded as typifying a certain profession, environment, etc.
  Quotations
  "I just peeked out toward the restaurant and there are a lot of Navy types in there. I'd hate for you to get in trouble on your last night in Europe."
  2002, Pat Conroy, The Great Santini, page 4
3. An individual that represents the ideal for its class; an embodiment.
  Quotations
  Altogether he was the type of low ruffianism — as ill-conditioned a looking brute as ever ginned a hare.
  1872, Mary Rose Godfrey, Loyal, volume 3, page 116
4. (printing, countable) A letter or character used for printing, historically a cast or engraved block.
  1. (uncountable) Such types collectively, or a set of type of one font or size.
  2. (chiefly uncountable) Text printed with such type, or imitating its characteristics.
5. (taxonomy) Something, often a specimen, selected as an objective anchor to connect a scientific name to a taxon; this need not be representative or typical.
  Quotations
  ...thus Stearn has designated Linnaeus as the type specimen of Homo sapiens
  2009 March 20, Greg Mayer, “Who is the type specimen of Homo sapiens?”, in Why Evolution Is True‎
  Musca domestica is the type-species of Musca, a genus originally created by Linnaeus for a variety of higher Diptera, many of which are now known to be in other families.
  2015 December 16, “What's in a fly?”, in Natural History Museum‎
6. Preferred sort of person; sort of person that one is attracted to.
7. (medicine) A blood group.
8. (corpus linguistics) A word that occurs in a text or corpus irrespective of how many times it occurs, as opposed to a token.
9. (theology) An event or person that prefigures or foreshadows a later event - commonly an Old Testament event linked to Christian times.
10. (computing theory) A tag attached to variables and values used in determining which kinds of value can be used in which situations; a data type.
11. (fine arts) The original object, or class of objects, scene, face, or conception, which becomes the subject of a copy; especially, the design on the face of a medal or a coin.
12. (chemistry) A simple compound, used as a mode or pattern to which other compounds are conveniently regarded as being related, and from which they may be actually or theoretically derived.
13. (mathematics) A part of the partition of the object domain of a logical theory (which due to the existence of such partition, would be called a typed theory). (Note: this corresponds to the notion of "data type" in computing theory.)
  Quotations
  Logics of the second and higher orders may be regarded as type-theoretic systems.
  2011, V.N. Grishin (originator), "Types, theory of", in Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Types,_theory_of&oldid=14150
14. (obsolete except in the above special senses) A symbol, emblem, or example of something.
verb
third-person singular simple present types, present participle typing, simple past and past participle typed
1. To put text on paper using a typewriter.
2. To enter text or commands into a computer using a keyboard.
3. To determine the blood type of.
4. To represent by a type, model, or symbol beforehand; to prefigure.
5. To furnish an expression or copy of; to represent; to typify.
  Quotations
  Let us type them now in our own lives.
  1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […]
6. To categorize into types.
  Quotations
  It was a full load, a disparate group that he had already typed and cross-matched with their potential for future crime.
  1998, Dana Stabenow, Fire and Ice, page 1