stereotype

[ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer-]

noun

1. a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.

   Cowboys and Indians are American stereotypes.

2. a set form; convention.

   Most important for lexicographers are the idiomatic stereotypes whose meaning cannot be inferred from knowledge of the meanings of the individual items.

3. Printing.

   1. a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.

   2. a plate made by this process.

verb (used with object)

stereotyped, stereotyping 

1. to characterize or regard as a stereotype.

   The actor has been stereotyped as a villain.

   Synonyms: typecast, label, categorize

2. to give a fixed form to.

3. Printing.,  to make a stereotype of.

stereotype

/ ˌstɛrɪə ˈtɪpɪk, ˌstɪər-, ˈstɛrɪəˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər- /

noun

1. 1. a method of producing cast-metal printing plates from a mould made from a forme of type matter in papier-mâché or some other material

   2. the plate so made

2. another word for stereotypy

3. an idea, trait, convention, etc, that has grown stale through fixed usage

4. sociol a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly

verb

1. 1. to make a stereotype of

   2. to print from a stereotype

2. to impart a fixed usage or convention to

stereotype

¹

1. A too-simple and therefore distorted image of a group, such as “Football players are stupid” or “The English are cold and unfriendly people.”

stereotype

²

1. A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group.

Other Word Forms

• stereotyper noun
• stereotypic adjective
• stereotypist noun
• stereotypical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stereotype¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; stereo- + -type

Example Sentences

Globally, beauty pageants have been criticised for objectifying women and reinforcing gender stereotypes.

Read more on BBC

This could include disciplining teachers who use antisemitic slurs or stereotypes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As Louisiana argues, “race-based redistricting rests on an invidious stereotype: that all minorities, by virtue of their membership in their racial class, think alike and share the same interests and voting preferences.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I am a huge advocate for not stigmatising or stereotyping birth mums. My biological mother was not given the support she needed to have a clean pregnancy."

Read more on BBC

His aspiration was not of the clout-chasing, fame-hungry sort, but a drive to be understood, to have his culture recognized, to break free of stereotype and assert one’s being by being perceived.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• pattern