noun

plastic

PLAS-tihk

noun

A synthetic material made from polymers that can be molded into shape when soft and then set solid.

"Most food packaging today is made of plastic."

"The toy was cheaply made from thin plastic."

Credit or debit cards used instead of cash.

"He paid for the whole trip on plastic."

adj

Capable of being molded or shaped; flexible rather than rigid.

"Clay is plastic enough to be shaped by hand before it dries."

Fake or insincere, especially in a shallow, image-conscious way.

"She found the celebrity party crowd plastic and exhausting."

How to Use Plastic

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA moldable synthetic material; also slang for credit cards, and an adjective for anything moldable or (informally) fake.

Common pairings

plastic bag pay by plastic plastic surgery plastic smile

more plastic comparative, plastics plural, most plastic superlative

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Most food packaging today is made of _____.

From Greek plastikos, "able to be molded," from plassein, "to mold or form" — the same root as "plasma."

elastic drastic monastic fantastic sarcastic scholastic enthusiastic