Adjacent Words

Plaster definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PL`ASTER, n. [L. emplastrum; Gr. to daub or smear, properly to lay or spread on; to daub or to fashion, mold or shape.]
1. A composition of lime, water and sand, well mixed into a kind of paste and used for coating walls and partitions of houses. This composition when dry becomes hard, but still retains the name of plaster. Plaster is sometimes made of different materials, as chalk, gypsum,etc. and is sometimes used to parget the whole surface of a building.
2. In pharmacy, an external application of a harder consistence than an ointment, to be spread, according to different circumstances,either on linen or leather.
Plaster of Paris, a composition of several species of gypsum dug near Montmartre, near Paris in France, used in building and in casting busts and statues. In popular language, this name is applied improperly to plaster-stone, or to any species of gypsum.
PL`ASTER, v.t. To overlay with plaster, as the partitions of a house, walls, etc.
1. To cover with plaster, as a wound.
2. In popular language, to smooth over; to cover or conceal defects or irregularities.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a mixture of lime or gypsum with sand and water; hardens into a smooth solid; used to cover walls and ceilings
2: any of several gypsum cements; a white powder (a form of calcium sulphate) that forms a paste when mixed with water and hardens into a solid; used in making molds and sculptures and casts for broken limbs [syn: plaster of Paris, plaster]
3: a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc. [syn: poultice, cataplasm, plaster]
4: a surface of hardened plaster (as on a wall or ceiling); "there were cracks in the plaster" [syn: plaster, plasterwork]
5: adhesive tape used in dressing wounds [syn: plaster, adhesive plaster, sticking plaster] v
1: apply a heavy coat to [syn: plaster, plaster over, stick on]
2: cover conspicuously or thickly, as by pasting something on; "The demonstrators plastered the hallways with posters"; "She let the walls of the apartment be beplastered with stucco" [syn: plaster, beplaster]
3: affix conspicuously; "She plastered warnings all over the wall"
4: apply a plaster cast to; "plaster the broken arm"
5: coat with plaster; "daub the wall" [syn: plaster, daub]
6: dress by covering with a therapeutic substance [syn: poultice, plaster]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin emplastrum, from Greek emplastron, from emplassein to plaster on, from en- + plassein to mold, plaster; perhaps akin to Latin planus level, flat — more at floor Date: before 12th century 1. a medicated or protective dressing that consists of a film (as of cloth or plastic) spread with a usually medicated substance <adhesive plaster>; broadly something applied to heal and soothe 2. a pasty composition (as of lime, water, and sand) that hardens on drying and is used for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions • plastery adjective II. verb (plastered; plastering) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to overlay or cover with plaster ; coat 2. to apply a plaster to 3. a. to cover over or conceal as if with a coat of plaster b. to apply as a coating or incrustation c. to smooth down with a sticky or shiny substance <plastered his hair down> 4. to fasten or apply tightly to another surface 5. to treat with plaster of paris 6. to affix to or place on especially conspicuously or in quantity 7. to inflict heavy damage or loss on especially by a concentrated or unremitting attack intransitive verb to apply plaster • plasterer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a soft pliable mixture esp. of lime putty with sand or Portland cement etc. for spreading on walls, ceilings, etc., to form a smooth hard surface when dried. 2 Brit. = sticking-plaster (see STICK(2)). 3 hist. a curative or protective substance spread on a bandage etc. and applied to the body (mustard plaster). --v.tr. 1 cover (a wall etc.) with plaster or a similar substance. 2 (often foll. by with) coat thickly or to excess; bedaub (plastered the bread with jam; the wall was plastered with slogans). 3 stick or apply (a thing) thickly like plaster (plastered glue all over it). 4 (often foll. by down) make (esp. hair) smooth with water, cream, etc.; fix flat. 5 (as plastered adj.) sl. drunk. 6 apply a medical plaster or plaster cast to. 7 sl. bomb or shell heavily. Phrases and idioms: plaster cast 1 a bandage stiffened with plaster of Paris and applied to a broken limb etc. 2 a statue or mould made of plaster. plaster of Paris fine white plaster made of gypsum and used for making plaster casts etc. plaster saint iron. a person regarded as being without moral faults or human frailty. Derivatives: plasterer n. plastery adj. Etymology: ME f. OE & OF plastre or F plastrer f. med.L plastrum f. L emplastrum f. Gk emplastron

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plaster Plas"ter, n. [AS., a plaster (in sense 1), fr. L. emplastrum, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to daub on, stuff in; ? in + ? to mold: cf. OF. plastre a plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]tre. Cf. Plastic, Emplaster, Piaster.] [Formerly written also plaister.] 1. (Med.) An external application of a consistency harder than ointment, prepared for use by spreading it on linen, leather, silk, or other material. It is adhesive at the ordinary temperature of the body, and is used, according to its composition, to produce a medicinal effect, to bind parts together, etc.; as, a porous plaster; sticking plaster. 2. A composition of lime, water, and sand, with or without hair as a bond, for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions of houses. See Mortar. 3. Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, especially when ground, as used for making ornaments, figures, moldings, etc.; or calcined gypsum used as a fertilizer. Plaster cast, a copy of an object obtained by pouring plaster of Paris mixed with water into a mold. Plaster of Paris. [So called because originally brought from a suburb of Paris.] (Chem.) Anhydrous calcium sulphate, or calcined gypsum, which forms with water a paste which soon sets or hardens, and is used for casts, moldings, etc. The term is loosely applied to any plaster stone or species of gypsum. Plaster of Paris bandage (Surg.), a bandage saturated with a paste of plaster of Paris, which on drying forms a perfectly fitting splint.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plaster Plas"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plastered; p. pr. & vb. n. Plastering.] [Cf. OF. plastrer to plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]trer.] 1. To cover with a plaster, as a wound or sore. 2. To overlay or cover with plaster, as the ceilings and walls of a house. 3. Fig.: To smooth over; to cover or conceal the defects of; to hide, as with a covering of plaster. --Bale.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(plasters, plastering, plastered) 1. Plaster is a smooth paste made of sand, lime, and water which goes hard when it dries. Plaster is used to cover walls and ceilings and is also used to make sculptures. There were huge cracks in the plaster, and the green shutters were faded... 2. If you plaster a wall or ceiling, you cover it with a layer of plaster. The ceiling he had just plastered fell in and knocked him off his ladder. VERB: V n 3. If you plaster a surface or a place with posters or pictures, you stick a lot of them all over it. They plastered the city with posters condemning her election... His room is plastered with pictures of Porsches and Ferraris. VERB: V n with n, be V-ed with n 4. If you plaster yourself in some kind of sticky substance, you cover yourself in it. She plastered herself from head to toe in high factor sun lotion. VERB: V pron-refl in n 5. A plaster is a strip of sticky material used for covering small cuts or sores on your body. (BRIT; in AM, usually use Band-Aid) N-COUNT 6. see also plastered 7. If you have a leg or arm in plaster, you have a cover made of plaster of Paris around your leg or arm, in order to protect a broken bone and allow it to mend. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use in a cast) PHRASE

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Mortar, stucco, cement. II. v. a. 1. Parget, cover with plaster. 2. (Colloq.) Bedaub, smear, lay on coarsely.

Moby Thesaurus

Ace bandage, Band-Aid, Portland cement, Spackle, adherent, adhesive, adhesive tape, adobe, application, ashlar, band, bandage, bandaging, barnacle, bathe, bedaub, besmear, binder, booze up, boozify, brace, bramble, brick, bricks and mortar, brier, bulldog, burr, butter, care for, cast, cataplasm, cement, chinking, clay, clinker, coat, composition, compress, concrete, cotton, court plaster, cover, covering materials, cravat, crock, crush, cure, dab, daub, decal, decalcomania, dental pulp, diagnose, doctor, drag, dress, dressing, dub, elastic bandage, epithem, equalize, even, ferroconcrete, firebrick, flag, flagstone, flatten, flooring, flux, four-tailed bandage, fuddle, gauze, give care to, glue, grade, grease, grout, gunk, harrow, heal, lath and plaster, lay, leech, level, limpet, lint, lubricate, mash, masonry, massage, mastic, minister to, molasses, mortar, mow, mucilage, mush, nurse, oil, operate on, overlay, overtake, paper pulp, parget, paste, patching plaster, pavement, paving, paving material, physic, pickle, pith, plane, planish, plaster cast, plasters, pledget, pollute, porridge, poultice, prestressed concrete, prickle, pudding, pulp, pulp lead, pulpwood, purge, rag pulp, remedy, remora, roller, roller bandage, roofage, roofing, roughcast, rub, rubber bandage, sauce, shave, siding, size, sling, smarm, smash, smear, smooth, smooth down, smooth out, smudge, souse, spackling compound, splint, sponge, spread, squash, stew, sticker, stone, strap, stucco, stupe, sulfate pulp, sulfite pulp, superimpose, swack, syrup, tampon, tape, tent, thorn, tile, tiling, tipsify, tourniquet, treat, triangular bandage, walling, white lead, wood pulp