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plastic

plas·tic/ˈplæstɪk/noun, adjective

plastic is spelled P-L-A-S-T-I-C: 7 letters and 2 syllables (plas·tic). It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plastic means “A synthetic, solid, hydrocarbon-based polymer, whether thermoplastic or thermosetting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plastic is plastics.

How many letters and syllables are in plastic?

Letters7: P-L-A-S-T-I-C
Syllables2: plas·tic
In writing32 times per million words; the 2,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 plastic?

Plastic appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,941st 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 plastic?

  • UK /ˈplæstɪk/
  • UK [ˈpʰlastɪk]
  • US /ˈplæstɪk/

Plastic has 2 syllables, split plas·tic in writing.

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

What rhymes with plastic?

10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as plastic from its last stressed vowel (/æstɪk/):

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 plastic

  • plastics plural
  • more plastic comparative
  • most plastic superlative

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

What does plastic mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

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

  2. 2

    colloquialCredit 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.

  3. 3

    slangInsincerity; fakeness.

  4. 4

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

  5. 5

    slangAn instance of plastic surgery.

  6. 6

    obsoleteA sculptor, moulder.

  7. 7

    archaicAny solid but malleable substance.

  8. 8

    slangSynonym of Plastic Paddy.

adjective

  1. 1

    Capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible, pliant.

  2. 2

    archaicProducing tissue.

  3. 3

    datedCreative, formative.

  4. 4

    Capable of adapting to varying conditions; characterized by environmental adaptability.

  5. 5

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

  6. 6

    Made of plastic.

  7. 7

    derogatoryInferior or not the real thing.

  8. 8

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

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

How do you abbreviate plastic?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of plastic: plstc..

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

Plastic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchplastique (synthetic thermoplastic polymer)
GermanKunststoff, Plastik, Plast, Plaste (synthetic thermoplastic polymer), Plastikgeld (colloquial: credit cards or debit cards), plastisch (capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible…)
Portugueseplástico (synthetic thermoplastic polymer)
Spanishplástico (synthetic thermoplastic polymer), maleable (capable of being moulded; malleable, flexible…), de plástico (made of plastic)

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 plastic come from?

From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός (plastikós), from πλάσσω (plássō, “to mold, form”). Doublet of plastique.

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

What to look up after plastic