Word.ws English Dictionary

plastic

Syllables: plas·ticUK/ˈplæstɪk//ˈplæstɪk/

plastic noun: a synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

plastic: a synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting
Image: Cjp24, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

plastic (countable and uncountable, plural plastics)

  1. A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.
    • Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. Dr Mincer and Dr...2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
    • Reducing plastic waste is a crucial problem for today’s environment, and whether it’s recyclable and biodegradable phone cases or sustainable fashion, there are plenty of eco-friendly products that can help you reduce your footprint.2020 October 22, Kai Burkhardt, “31 eco-friendly products to live sustainably in 2024”, in CNN
  2. (colloquial, metonymically) Credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.
    • I knew the war between cash and credit cards was over and plastic had won, hands down, when even Mickey D's started taking credit and debit cards.
    • The surgeon checks your plastic on the phone / a Casio concerto entertains you while you hold1990, Fish, “Big Wedge”, in Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors
  3. (figuratively, slang) Insincerity; fakeness.
  4. (figuratively, slang) A person who is fake or arrogant, or believes that they are better than the rest of the population; a narcissistic, affected person.
    • Cady: You know I couldn't invite you. I had to pretend to be plastic.
    • Janis: Hey, buddy, you're not pretending anymore. You're plastic. Cold, shiny, hard plastic.2004, Rosalind Wiseman, Tina Fey, Mean Girls
  5. (countable, slang) An instance of plastic surgery.
    • Somebody's had a plastic done on his nose, I think, or else somebody bent it out of shape since I last saw it.1951, Arnold Hano, The Big Out, page 146
  6. (obsolete) A sculptor, moulder.
  7. (archaic) Any solid but malleable substance.
  8. (slang) Synonym of Plastic Paddy.
    Synonyms:
    Plastic Paddy

Adjective

plastic (comparative more plastic, superlative most plastic)

  1. Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.
    • the rage […] betook itself at last to certain missile weapons; which, though from their plastic nature they threatened neither the loss of life or of limb, were, however, sufficiently dreadful to a well-dressed lady.', Folio Society 1973, page 103
    • [A]nd it is highly probable that along with more splendid habits of life entered a more lavish use of the gorgeous stores laid open to the plastic powers of fiction.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth
    Antonyms:
    elastic
  2. (archaic) Producing tissue.
  3. (dated) Creative, formative.
    • Benign Creator! let thy plastic hand dispose its own effect1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
    • See plastic Nature working to this end.1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
  4. Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability.
  5. Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material.
  6. Made of plastic.
    • A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
    • A green plastic watering can / For a fake Chinese rubber plant / In a fake plastic earth / That she bought from a rubber man / In a town full of rubber plans / To get rid of itself1995, Radiohead, “Fake Plastic Trees”, in The Bends
  7. (derogatory, figuratively) Inferior or not the real thing.
    • The Hippie has been replaced by the pseudo-Hippie, the plastic Hippie, the weekend Hippie1969, Lowell D. Streiker, The gospel of irreligious religion, page 83
    • People always try to say that we're garage rock, but that scene is so plastic. Some dude in a band has tight jeans, dyed black hair, and a starving girlfriend with bangs, and people call it indie rock. It's so gross.2007, Daniel Sinker, We owe you nothing: Punk Planet: the collected interviews, page 238
    Synonyms:
    ersatz
  8. (figuratively, informal) Fake, insincere, especially in a shallow and conformist way pretending to smoothness and glossy flawlessness.
    • He kissed the white woman once, and it was so artificial, so plastic (that's the word, plastic) that one wondered why did they bother at all.1966, Calvin C. Hernton, White papers for white Americans, page 67
    • Then go home and check yourself / You think we're singing 'bout someone else… / But you're plastic people / You gotta go1967, “Plastic People”, in Frank Zappa (music), Absolutely Free, performed by The Mothers of Invention
    Synonyms:
    fake, insincere
    Antonyms:
    genuine, sincere
  9. (informal) Escaped from captivity, rather than wild.
    • A superb — and apparently wild, not plastic — Baikal Teal was located at RSPB Greylake in Somerset[.]2024 January 14, Ian Reid, “South Aussie birding on the other side of the world”, in The Feathered Variety (blog), archived from the original on 14 Jan 2024
  10. (informal) Introduced, rather than native or naturally vagrant.
    • I was checking into my motel while a Red-whiskered Bulbul called outside – a Queensland plastic rarity which was somewhat amusing.2018 August 12, Corwin Caelin, “The bucket list – a Wallaby and a Wombat – part 1”, in Go Birding (blog), archived from the original on 23 Aug 2018

plastic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

plastic in Hindi

synthetic thermoplastic polymer
प्लास्टिक plāsṭik

plastic in Tamil

synthetic thermoplastic polymer
நெகிழி nekiḻi, பிளாஸ்டிக் piḷāsṭik
capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant
நெகிழி nekiḻi

plastic in Marathi

synthetic thermoplastic polymer
प्लास्टिक plāsṭik

plastic in Urdu

synthetic thermoplastic polymer
پِلاسْٹِک pilāsṭik
More languagesFewer languages
plastic in Bengali
প্লাস্টিক plasṭik
plastic in Malayalam
പ്ലാസ്റ്റിക് plāsṟṟikŭ
plastic in Kannada
ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ಕು, ಅಚ್ಚೊತ್ತಬಲ್ಲ
plastic in Gujarati
કચકડું kacakḍũ
plastic in Nepali
प्लास्टिक plāsṭik
plastic in Pashto
پلاستيک plāstik
plastic in Tagalog
plastik, makalaw, plastiko
plastic in Arabic
بْلَاسْتِيك blastīk, بْلَاسْتِيكِيّ blastīkiyy
plastic in Malay
plastik
plastic in Thai
พลาสติก pláas-dtìk
plastic in Vietnamese
nhựa, chất dẻo
plastic in Myanmar
ကော် kau, ပလပ်စတစ် pa.lapca.tac, ပလတ်စတစ် pa.latca.tac

Examples of plastic in a sentence

  • Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily.2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
  • These endocrine disruptors are everywhere: plastics, shampoos, cosmetics, cushions, pesticides, canned foods and A.T.M. receipts.2021 February 20, Nicholas Kristof, “What Are Sperm Telling Us?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
  • It's all about fast cars and cussing each other / but it doesn't matter cause I'm packing plastic / and that's what makes my life so fucking fantastic.2008, Lily Allen, “The Fear”, in It's Not Me, It's You:
  • Tessa: Pretty ironic that a box full of rubbers landed me to a town full of plastic.2011, Emily Kapnek, Suburgatory:

All 40 example sentences with plastic

Synonyms of plastic

3 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of plastic

Forms of plastic

Noun
pluralplastics
alternative form (archaic)plastick
Adjective
comparativemore plastic
superlativemost plastic

Plural of plastic: plastics

Origin of plastic

From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός (plastikós), from πλάσσω (plássō, “to mold, form”). Doublet of plastique.

Words formed from plastic

Phrases with plastic

20 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with plastic

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about plastic

What does plastic mean?
Plastic means a synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.
What is plastic in Hindi?
Plastic in Hindi is प्लास्टिक (plāsṭik). See Plastic meaning in Hindi.
How do you use plastic in a sentence?
Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily.
What part of speech is plastic?
Plastic can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce plastic?
Plastic is pronounced /ˈplæstɪk/ (UK).
What is the plural of plastic?
The plural of plastic is plastics.

Words near plastic in the dictionary

  1. plasters
  2. plasterwise
  3. plasterwork
  4. plasterworks
  5. plastery
  6. plastic
  7. plastic art
  8. plastic arts
  9. plastic bag
  10. plastic bags
  11. plastic baton round

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: plastic (page history and authors); plastic (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-plastic.ogg.

Cite this entry: “plastic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/plastic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.