plastic

plastic — noun

1. a light, man-made material made by chemical processes from oil, used to make a h

1.nounA2
Definition

a light, man-made material made by chemical processes from oil, used to make a huge range of everyday objects such as bottles, bags, toys, and chairs.

Example

Maya bought a water bottle made of clear, hard plastic for her morning runs.

uncountable use for the material itself

The toy boat was made of cheap, brittle plastic that snapped in Carlos's hand.

common collocation: made of plastic

Common collocations
  • a piece of plastic
  • made of plastic
  • single-use plastic
  • recycled plastic
  • reduce plastic
Synonyms
  • polymer

    the technical or scientific term for the family of substances plastic belongs to

  • synthetic

    broader term for any man-made material, including some fabrics

Usage Note

Often uncountable when talking about the bulk material (a lot of plastic), but countable when referring to a particular type or piece (a hard plastic / two different plastics).

Common Mistakes

I bought three plastics for my lunch.
I bought three plastic boxes for my lunch.
for a single object you usually need a noun like box, bag, or bottle after plastic.
The toy is made by plastic.
The toy is made of plastic.
use 'made of' (or 'made from') with the material, not 'made by'.

2. the business or area of industry that makes plastic, especially as a field of st

2.nounC1
Definition

the business or area of industry that makes plastic, especially as a field of study or work.

Example

After graduating, Marcus took a job in plastics at a large factory in Hsinchu.

often plural form 'plastics' for the industry

Lina's uncle has worked in plastic for over thirty years and knows every machine on the factory floor.

work in plastic / plastics

Common collocations
  • work in plastics
  • the plastics industry
  • plastics engineering
Synonyms

Usage Note

Frequently appears as the plural form 'plastics' when referring to the industry or as a field of study (plastics engineering, plastics manufacturing); the singular 'plastic' for the industry is rarer and more informal.

Common Mistakes

She works at a plastic.
She works in plastics.
use 'in plastics' (or 'in the plastics industry'), not 'at a plastic'.

3. a casual word for credit cards and debit cards, used when talking about paying w

3.nounC1
Definition

a casual word for credit cards and debit cards, used when talking about paying without cash or a cheque.

Example

Marcus paid for the whole dinner with plastic because no one at the table had cash.

pay with plastic

The little market near Lina's house only takes cash, no plastic.

negative context: no plastic accepted

Common collocations
  • pay with plastic
  • put it on plastic
  • no plastic accepted
  • live on plastic
Synonyms
  • credit card

    the precise, neutral term for one specific card

  • card

    shorter and equally informal, but refers to one card or to the method

Antonyms
  • cash

    physical money in coins and notes, the usual contrast

Usage Note

Informal and almost always uncountable; most natural in casual speech and writing about everyday spending. In formal contexts, prefer 'credit cards' or 'card payments'.

Common Mistakes

She gave me her plastic to pay the bill.
She gave me her credit card to pay the bill.
for a single card, use 'card' or 'credit card'; 'plastic' refers to cards as a payment method in general.

plastic — adjective

plastic — adjective combining form

Word family

  • plasticity
    nounC2
  • plasticize
    verbC2
  • plasticky
    adjectiveC1
  • plastics
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words all describe man-made materials, but they sit at different levels of generality. 'Plastic' is the everyday word a learner needs first: it covers the light, formable substance used for bottles, bags, and toys. 'Polymer' is the scientific umbrella term — every plastic is a polymer, but so are natural materials like rubber and silk, so chemists prefer it in technical writing. 'Synthetic' is even broader: it works as an adjective for any artificial material, including fabrics like polyester, and only sometimes as a noun. 'Resin' refers to the sticky, semi-liquid form before plastic hardens, or to natural tree resin used in glues and paints. So a child says 'plastic toy', a chemist might say 'thermoset polymer', a clothing label says 'synthetic fibre', and an art teacher hands out 'epoxy resin'.

plastic ↗polymer ↗synthetic ↗resin ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • plastic bag
  • plastic bottle
  • plastic straw
  • plastic surgery
  • plastic wrap
  • plastic packaging
  • plastic waste
  • plastic pollution

Adverbs

  • entirely plastic
  • almost entirely plastic
  • completely plastic

Phrases

  • a piece of plastic
  • single-use plastic
  • recycled plastic
  • biodegradable plastic

Prepositions

  • made of plastic
  • made from plastic
  • in plastic
  • out of plastic

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The English word 'plastic' arrived in the 1600s from Latin 'plasticus' and ultimately from Greek 'plastikos', meaning 'able to be shaped or moulded' — the same root that gives us 'plaster' and 'protoplasm'. For centuries it was only an adjective describing soft, shapeable materials like clay or wax. The familiar noun meaning — the synthetic material itself — only took off in the early 1900s, after Bakelite and similar man-made substances became common. The slang use for credit cards followed in the second half of the 1900s, named after the thin shaped sheets the cards are pressed from.