printing
[ˈpʰɹ̥ɪɾ̃ɪŋ]noun, verb
printing is spelled P-R-I-N-T-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, printing means “The process or business of producing printed material by means of inked type and a printing press or similar technology” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of printing is printings.
How many letters and syllables are in printing?
| Letters | 8: P-R-I-N-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,444th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is printing?
Printing appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,444th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce printing?
- /ˈpɹɪntɪŋ/
- US [ˈpʰɹ̥ɪɾ̃ɪŋ]
Printing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-printing.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of printing
- printings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does printing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process or business of producing printed material by means of inked type and a printing press or similar technology.
In those days, printing was big business in this city. Giant web-fed presses churned out countless tons of printed matter annually.
- 2
Synonym of printed matter.
They delivered a huge batch of printing yesterday, so you can expect an invoice shortly.
- 3
Synonym of print run (“all the copies of a publication that have been printed in one batch”).
She owns a copy of the first printing, which is a favorite among book collectors because some of the typos in it seem like Freudian slips.
- 4
Handwritten characters that are not joined up.
The instructions said, "Please sign your name and then print your name below your signature," so he wrote out his name underneath in the neatest printing that his hand could muster.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of print.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate printing?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of printing: prtg., ptg..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Printing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | imprimerie , tirage |
| German | Drucken, Druck , Auflage |
| Portuguese | impressão , tiragem |
| Spanish | impresión , tirada |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does printing come from?
By surface analysis, print + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).