Phrase guide

characters per inch

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A unit of measurement of the number of typographic characters that fit on a one inch line of printed type. This unit is mainly used to specify font sizes that have the same width for each character (monospaced), however it may also be used to give an average for fonts with characters of varying widths.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

Topics: arts, design, media, publishing, typography

Examples

  • Please use a type that is 10 characters per inch.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A unit of measurement of the number of characters per inch ("linear packing density") when storing data on certain types of magnetic media or tape, used to measure storage density that the encoding medium possesses.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: plural, plural-only

Qualifier: electronic media

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.