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pulp

[puhlp]
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noun
  1. the soft, juicy, edible part of a fruit.
  2. the pith of the stem of a plant.
  3. a soft or fleshy part of an animal body.
  4. Also called dental pulp. the inner substance of the tooth, containing arteries, veins, and lymphatic and nerve tissue that communicate with their respective vascular, lymph, and nerve systems.
  5. any soft, moist, slightly cohering mass, as that into which linen, wood, etc., are converted in the making of paper.
  6. a magazine or book printed on rough, low-quality paper made of wood pulp or rags, and usually containing sensational and lurid stories, articles, etc.Compare slick1(def 9).
  7. Mining.
    1. ore pulverized and mixed with water.
    2. dry crushed ore.
verb (used with object)
  1. to reduce to pulp.
  2. to reduce (printed papers, books, etc.) to pulp for use in making new paper.
  3. to remove the pulp from.
verb (used without object)
  1. to become reduced to pulp.

Origin of pulp

1555–65; earlier pulpe < Latin pulpa flesh, pulp of fruit
Related formspulp·er, nounpulp·less, adjectivepulp·like, adjectivede·pulp, verb (used with object)un·pulped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pulper

Historical Examples

  • In the barn there was a sound of the pulper crunching the turnips.

    The White Peacock

    D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

  • These are put back again, and passed through a pulper with the upper chop set closer.

  • The crisp strips of turnip sprinkled quietly down onto a heap of gold which grew beneath the pulper.

    The White Peacock

    D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

  • The fruit is then measured and thrown into a loft above the pulper in a heap.

British Dictionary definitions for pulper

pulp

noun
  1. soft or fleshy plant tissue, such as the succulent part of a fleshy fruit
  2. a moist mixture of cellulose fibres, as obtained from wood, from which paper is made
    1. a magazine or book containing trite or sensational material, and usually printed on cheap rough paper
    2. (as modifier)a pulp novel
  4. dentistry the soft innermost part of a tooth, containing nerves and blood vessels
  5. any soft soggy mass or substance
  6. mining pulverized ore, esp when mixed with water
verb
  1. to reduce (a material or solid substance) to pulp or (of a material or solid substance) to be reduced to pulp
  2. (tr) to remove the pulp from (fruit)
Derived Formspulper, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin pulpa
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pulper

pulp

n.

c.1400, "fleshy part of a fruit or plant," from Latin pulpa "animal or plant pulp; pith of wood," earlier *pelpa, perhaps from the same root as pulvis "dust," pollen "fine flour" (see pollen); extended to other similar substances by early 15c. The adjective meaning "sensational" is from pulp magazine (1931), so called from pulp in sense of "type of rough paper used in cheaply made magazines and books" (1727). As a genre name, pulp fiction attested by 1943 (pulp writer "writer of pulp fiction" was in use by 1939). The opposite adjective in reference to magazines was slick.

pulp

v.

1660s "reduce to pulp" (implied in pulping), from pulp (n.). As "to remove the pulp from," from 1791. Related: Pulped.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pulper in Medicine

pulp

(pŭlp)
n.
  1. A soft, moist, shapeless mass of matter.
  2. Dental pulp.
  3. The soft, moist part of fruit.
Related formspulp′ous (pŭl′pəs) null adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
pulper in Science

pulp

[pŭlp]
  1. The soft tissue forming the inner structure of a tooth and containing nerves and blood vessels.
  2. The soft moist part of a fruit, especially a drupe or pome.
  3. The soft pith forming the contents of the stem of a plant.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
pulper in Culture

pulp

The soft tissue, containing blood vessels and nerves, that makes up the interior of the tooth.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.