How to use plastic in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, adjective

Plastic means a synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting. Example: “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.”

Examples of plastic by meaning

nounA synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

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
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
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

nounCredit 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.

nounA person who is fake or arrogant, or believes that they are better than the rest of the population; a narcissistic...

Tessa: Pretty ironic that a box full of rubbers landed me to a town full of plastic.2011, Emily Kapnek, Suburgatory

nounAn 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

adjectiveCapable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.

Man tracks and dog tracks, they left a clear imprint on its plastic surface, and came out on an open beach, stretching a mile away to another headland.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 60
While a historical woman obviously dwells at the root of this whole phenomenon, her image has been plastic, allowing the Christian imagination to create widely different Marian symbols and theologies in relation to spiritual and social needs.2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America, volume 182, number 21
while the broad pattern of connections between brain regions is similar in every healthy human brain, their details – their number, size and strength – are thought to underpin our individuality, as synapses are ‘plastic’, shaped by experience.2012, Adam Zeman, ‘Only Connect’, Literary Review, number 399

adjectiveFake, 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
In fact it seems as though there are two kinds of people in the world: real people and plastic people, as the Flower Children used to say.1973, Eric Berne, What do you say after you say hello?, page 120
But I don't think she would be happy in Los Angeles — it's so plastic and cheap and they expect the women to be whores to get anywhere.2006, Catherine Coulter, Born to Be Wild, page 71

adjectiveIntroduced, 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...

More sentences with plastic

For this task, I prefer the plastic sheeting that is 10 mills thick.From the entry mill
For this task, I prefer the plastic bars that are 10 mills in diameter.From the entry mill
The expansion of metals and plastics in response to heat is well understood.From the entry expansion
The metal frame survived the fire, but the plastic and rubber bits are toast.From the entry toast
The biology teacher passed a large plastic model of the atomic structure of DNA around the classroom.From the entry model
He pomaded his hair until it looked like a piece of shiny plastic.From the entry pomade
There's a pooch in the plastic where it got too hot.From the entry pooch
For this task, I prefer the plastic sheeting that is 10 mils thick.From the entry mil
For this task, I prefer the plastic bars that are 10 mils in diameter.From the entry mil
Each pancake comes with a dollop of suspiciously soft butter in a tiny plastic cup.From the entry dollop
They wanted crystal champagne glasses for the party but the caterers provided cheapo plastic cups instead.From the entry cheapo
The lefty scissors are the ones with the red plastic handles.From the entry lefty
A major component of new-car smell is outgassing by plastic interior parts.From the entry outgassing
In some 21st-century sugarbushes, plastic tubing conveys the sap to the sugarhouse.From the entry sugarbush
The plastic was a nonporous surface, so the ink couldn't sink in and stain it.From the entry nonporous
Antiozonants are used as additives to plastics and rubber, especially in tyre manufacturing.From the entry antiozonant
Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic.From the entry of
Snobs feel it's hard to call it wine with a straight face when the cork is made of plastic.From the entry cork
It looks like wood, but it feels more like plastic.From the entry feel
Both paper and plastic can be recycled.From the entry recycle
The students reused empty plastic bottles in their science experiment.From the entry reuse
Bakelite is a forerunner of today's plastics.From the entry forerunner
There is a plastic molly-guard covering the escalator's shutdown button to prevent little kids from pushing it and stopping the escalator.From the entry escalator
This plastic syringe delivers one cc of medicine to the mouth of the animal. The medicine is peanut-flavored.From the entry cc
Early insulated wires were covered in silk rather than plastic.From the entry insulated
Common practice is to use plastic pipes with iron headers.From the entry header
My burger arrived with a plastic sachet of tomato ketchup.From the entry sachet

Meaning of plastic

noun A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.
noun Credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.
noun Insincerity; fakeness.

Full definition of plastic

Questions about plastic in a sentence

How do you use plastic in a sentence?: Plastic is used as a noun and adjective. For example: “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.”
What is a short sentence with plastic?: “Bakelite is a forerunner of today's plastics.”
What does plastic mean?: Plastic means a synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

Adapted from Wiktionary: plastic (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use plastic in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/plastic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.