Word of the Day
10 May 2026
stereotype
A metal printing plate cast from a matrix moulded from a raised printing surface.
Why this one
The word was a printing term first: stereos (solid) type, a plate cast in one piece so the same page could be printed again and again without resetting the type. The social sense borrows exactly that, a fixed form endlessly reproduced.
In use
Once the forme's locked up we mould it and cast a stereotype, so we're not tying up the type for the whole run.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.Sources
- Definition sourceWiktionary