ENGLISH
REFERENCE

plaster

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈpɫæstɝ// UK //plˈɑːstɐ// plas·ter

n. a soft, wet mixture of lime, sand, and water that hardens into a smooth surface. You use it to cover walls and ceilings inside a building.

n. a building material made from lime, gypsum, or cement mixed with water and sand, applied wet to form a hard, smooth coating on walls and ceilings.


SIMPLE

The workers spread fresh plaster on the wall.

CONTEXTUAL

After repairing the cracks, the painter applied a thin layer of plaster to smooth the surface.

COMPLEX

The restoration team carefully matched the original lime plaster to preserve the historic texture of the eighteenth-century manor house.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English plaster, plastre, from Old English plaster, from late Latin plastrum, shortened from Classical Latin emplastrum (“a plaster, bandage”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman plastre. The verb is from Middle English plastren, from the noun.

Idioms1 entry

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