plasticnoun/ˈplæstɪk/

• 1

  A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting.

  • Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field. Dr Mincer and Dr Amaral-Zettler found evidence of them on their marine plastic, too.
  • Reducing plastic waste is a crucial problem for today’s environment, and whether it’s recyclable and biodegradable phone cases or sustainable fashion, there are plenty of eco-friendly products that can help you reduce your footprint.
• 2

  Credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.

  • I knew the war between cash and credit cards was over and plastic had won, hands down, when even Mickey D's started taking credit and debit cards.
  • The surgeon checks your plastic on the phone / a Casio concerto entertains you while you hold
• 3

  slangInsincerity; fakeness; a person who is fake or arrogant, or believes that they are better than the rest of the population; a narcissistic, affected person.

  • Cady: You know I couldn't invite you. I had to pretend to be plastic. Janis: Hey, buddy, you're not pretending anymore. You're plastic. Cold, shiny, hard plastic.
  • Tessa: Pretty ironic that a box full of rubbers landed me to a town full of plastic.
• 4

  slangAn instance of plastic surgery.

  • Somebody's had a plastic done on his nose, I think, or else somebody bent it out of shape since I last saw it.
• 5

  obsoleteA sculptor, moulder.

• 6

  archaicAny solid but malleable substance.

• 7

  slangSynonym of Plastic Paddy.

plasticadj/ˈplæstɪk/

• 1

  Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.

  • the rage […] betook itself at last to certain missile weapons; which, though from their plastic nature they threatened neither the loss of life or of limb, were, however, sufficiently dreadful to a well-dressed lady.
  • [A]nd it is highly probable that along with more splendid habits of life entered a more lavish use of the gorgeous stores laid open to the plastic powers of fiction.
• 2

  archaicmedicinesciencesProducing tissue.

• 3

  datedCreative, formative.

  • Benign Creator! let thy plastic hand dispose its own effect
  • See plastic Nature working to this end.
• 4

  biologynatural-sciencesCapable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability.

• 5

  Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material.

• 6

  Made of plastic.

  • A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
  • A green plastic watering can / For a fake Chinese rubber plant / In a fake plastic earth / That she bought from a rubber man / In a town full of rubber plans / To get rid of itself
• 7

  derogatoryInferior or not the real thing.

  • The Hippie has been replaced by the pseudo-Hippie, the plastic Hippie, the weekend Hippie
  • People always try to say that we're garage rock, but that scene is so plastic. Some dude in a band has tight jeans, dyed black hair, and a starving girlfriend with bangs, and people call it indie rock. It's so gross.
• 8

  informalFake, insincere, especially in a shallow and conformist way pretending to smoothness and glossy flawlessness.

  • He kissed the white woman once, and it was so artificial, so plastic (that's the word, plastic) that one wondered why did they bother at all.
  • Then go home and check yourself / You think we're singing 'bout someone else… / But you're plastic people / You gotta go