# pulp

/ˈpəɫp/ (US) · /pˈʌlp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/pulp
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. soft mass of material

noun · CEFR B2

a soft, wet, and shapeless mass of material.

For teachers: a soft, moist, and shapeless mass of matter, often produced by crushing or grinding a solid substance.

- The rain had turned the old newspapers on the ground into a grey pulp.
- The industrial machine grinds the timber into a fine pulp before it is processed into various grades of commercial paper.

### 2. fruit part

noun · CEFR B2

the soft, fleshy part of a fruit or vegetable.

For teachers: the soft, succulent part of a fruit or vegetable, often containing the seeds.

- I prefer orange juice with the pulp because it feels more natural.
- After simmering the tomatoes, pass them through a sieve to separate the smooth pulp from the tough skins and seeds.

### 3. cheap fiction

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal

cheap magazines or books that tell exciting, often violent stories.

For teachers: popular, sensationalist fiction or magazines, historically printed on low-quality, rough-textured paper.

- He spent his weekends reading old detective pulp from the 1940s.
- The director drew heavy inspiration from mid-century pulp, incorporating its lurid colour palettes and dramatic dialogue into his latest film.

Teaching tip: While 'pulp' refers to the paper quality, it is now almost exclusively used to describe the genre of the stories themselves.

### 4. to crush into a mass

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to crush something until it becomes a soft, wet mass.

For teachers: to reduce a solid substance to a soft, shapeless mass through crushing or chemical processing.

- The recycling centre pulps thousands of books every day.
- The unsold copies of the novel were eventually pulped to make room in the warehouse for newer releases.

### 5. to beat severely

verb · CEFR C2 · Slang · Informal

to hit someone very hard many times.

For teachers: to beat someone severely; usually used in the phrase 'beat to a pulp'.

- The bully threatened to beat him to a pulp if he told the teacher.
- The protagonist was beaten to a pulp by the antagonist's henchmen before making his dramatic escape in the final act.

Usage: Almost always appears as part of the idiom 'beat to a pulp'.

### 6. sensationalist style

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal

relating to cheap, exciting stories or magazines.

For teachers: characteristic of or relating to pulp magazines and their sensationalist style.

- The movie has a pulp feel with its over-the-top villains and fast action.
- The author adopted a pulp style for his latest thriller, using short sentences and high-stakes cliffhangers to keep the reader engaged.

## Examples

- I prefer orange juice without any pulp.
- The factory processes recycled paper into a thick pulp before turning it into new cardboard boxes.
- The director's latest film pays homage to the pulp novels of the 1950s, featuring gritty detectives and overly dramatic plot twists.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.