Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation marks) usually on the medium of paper.

A printing system based on the use of separate elements to reproduce the individual symbols on a page. This technique was pioneered in China using ceramic pieces in the 11th century; the first movable metal type was produced in Korea in the 13th century, where the first book using this method was printed in 1377.

In the 11th century movable type (one piece of type for each character) was invented. Movable type was never widely used in China because whole-block printing was less expensive, but when movable type reached Europe in the 15th century, it revolutionized the communication of ideas.