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PlainSpell

plaster

UK /ˈplɑːstə/noun, verb

plaster is spelled P-L-A-S-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plaster means “A paste applied to the skin for healing or cosmetic purposes” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plaster is plasters.

How many letters and syllables are in plaster?

Letters7: P-L-A-S-T-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is plaster?

Plaster appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce plaster?

  • UK /ˈplɑːstə/
  • /ˈplastə/
  • /ˈplastəɾ/

Plaster has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-plaster.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with plaster?

2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as plaster from its last stressed vowel (/ɑstə/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: stapler, psalter.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of plaster

  • plasters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • plaister
  • plastre
  • plastering participle, present
  • plastered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does plaster mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A paste applied to the skin for healing or cosmetic purposes.

  2. 2

    CanadaUKA small adhesive bandage to cover a minor wound; a sticking plaster.

  3. 3

    A mixture of lime or gypsum, sand, and water, sometimes with the addition of fibres, that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls and ceilings.

    Near-synonym: stucco (dedicated term for exterior type in some dialects)

  4. 4

    A similar material used for exterior walls.

  5. 5

    A cast made of plaster of Paris and gauze; a plaster cast.

  6. 6

    Plaster of Paris.

verb

  1. 1

    To cover or coat something with plaster; to render.

    to plaster a wall

  2. 2

    To apply a plaster to.

    to plaster a wound

  3. 3

    To smear with some viscous or liquid substance.

    Her face was plastered with mud.

  4. 4

    To hide or cover up, as if with plaster; to cover thickly.

    The radio station plastered the buses and trains with its advertisement.

  5. 5

    To cover a surface extensively with something, especially posters, pictures, or notices.

    The workmen plastered the wall with pictures.

  6. 6

    To bombard heavily or overwhelmingly; to overwhelm (with weapons fire).

  7. 7

    To smooth over.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Plaster in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchonguent (healing paste), plâtre, enduit (mixture for coating), enduire, plâtrer (to cover with plaster)
GermanSalbe, Creme (healing paste), Putz, Verputz, Stuck, Gips (mixture for coating)
Portugueseunguento (healing paste), gesso (mixture for coating), engessar (to cover with plaster)
Spanishungüento (healing paste), yeso, escayola, enlucido, revoque, estuco (mixture for coating)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does plaster come from?

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. Displaced native Old English clīþa. The verb is from Middle English plastren, from the noun.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after plaster