paste

paste — noun

1. a wet, heavy mixture such as flour and water that is used to make things stick t

1.nounB1
Definition

a wet, heavy mixture such as flour and water that is used to make things stick together

Example

Ben mixed flour and water to make paste for the paper mask.

make paste from flour and water

The teacher brushed paste onto the poster before the class show.

paste onto + surface

Common collocations
  • make paste
  • thick paste
  • brush paste onto a poster
  • paste for paper crafts
Synonyms
  • glue

    the general everyday word for sticky material that joins things

  • adhesive

    more formal and often used for products or technical use

  • gum

    often used for a sticky substance on paper or stamps

Grammar Patterns

make paste

paste for paper

brush paste onto something

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when you mean the material itself. Common with make and with paper, posters, labels, or bags.

2. food crushed into a smooth thick mass, often for spreading on bread or adding to

2.nounB2
Definition

food crushed into a smooth thick mass, often for spreading on bread or adding to dishes

Example

Lina spread olive paste on warm bread before dinner.

ingredient name + paste

The cook stirred fish paste into the soup for lunch.

paste into a dish

Common collocations
  • olive paste
  • fish paste
  • bean paste
  • date paste
Synonyms
  • spread

    focuses on food you put on bread or crackers

  • puree

    often used for fruit or vegetables and sounds more technical

  • pate

    usually a prepared meat spread, especially in Western cooking

Grammar Patterns

fish paste

bean paste

spread paste on bread

Usage Note

Often follows the name of the main ingredient, as in fish paste, date paste, or bean paste. Common in cooking and on food labels.

3. bright hard glass made into fake jewels so they look real

3.nounC1
Definition

bright hard glass made into fake jewels so they look real

Example

The necklace used paste stones instead of real diamonds.

paste stones

Under the lamp, the paste jewel looked almost real.

Common collocations
  • paste jewel
  • paste stone
  • paste gem
  • set with paste
Synonyms
  • lead glass

    a material term that focuses on what it is made from

  • imitation stone

    focuses on the finished jewel rather than the glass itself

Antonyms
  • diamond

    a real precious stone, not an artificial one

  • gemstone

    a natural jewel material rather than imitation glass

Grammar Patterns

paste jewel

paste stone

set with paste

Usage Note

Mostly found in jewellery, costume, museum, or historical contexts. It often appears before words like stone, gem, or jewel.

paste — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Paste, stick, glue, and attach all describe joining one thing to another, but they are not used in exactly the same way. Paste usually suggests paper, posters, labels, or photos and often implies a wet substance spread on a surface. Glue is broader and can be used for wood, plastic, shoes, or craft work. Stick is the everyday verb and can describe the result without naming the substance: you can stick a note on the fridge. Attach is the most general and slightly more formal; it often appears when the method does not matter, especially in instructions. You paste a photo into an album, glue a broken toy car, stick a note on the door, and attach a file to an email.

stick ↗glue ↗attach ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLate LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Paste came into English through Old French from late Latin pasta, a word for dough or a soft mixture, and that in turn goes back to Greek paste, meaning barley porridge. That history helps explain why the word can refer to both glue-like material and soft food, and why the computer sense later grew from the idea of putting copied material into a new place.