adhesive
Americanadjective
-
coated with glue, paste, mastic, or other sticky substance.
adhesive bandages.
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sticking fast; sticky; clinging.
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Physics. of or relating to the molecular force that exists in the area of contact between unlike bodies and that acts to unite them.
noun
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a substance that causes something to adhere, as glue or rubber cement.
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Philately. a postage stamp with a gummed back, as distinguished from one embossed or printed on an envelope or card.
adjective
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able or designed to adhere; sticky
adhesive tape
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tenacious or clinging
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adhesive
First recorded in 1660–70; adhes(ion) + -ive
Explanation
An adhesive is something sticky that holds things together. Use an adhesive to repair a cracked plate. Adhesive comes from the Latin adhaerere, meaning "stick to," which is precisely what something adhesive does — it sticks to things. An adhesive bonds surfaces together. It's the sticky side on a roll of duct tape that causes it to be so effective. The word can be used to describe both the substance itself: to use an adhesive, for example — or its property of stickiness: an adhesive bandage sticks to the skin.
Vocabulary lists containing adhesive
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Henkel’s deal for Stahl comes after the company recently said it would acquire ATP Adhesive Systems.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
This phenomenon, known as adhesion hysteresis, can be fundamentally observed in soft, elastic materials: Adhesive contact is formed more easily than it is broken.
From Science Daily • Mar. 8, 2024
Adhesive tapings from Rikki's clothes were examined and a DNA match to Mr Watson was allegedly made.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2022
You’ll need only a little, so you might want to buy a squeeze tube, such as the Red Devil Tile Paste Adhesive.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 16, 2021
Adhesive plaster was cheap—he would like to have charged proportionately for the exact amount he had used; but the division was beyond him!
From Under the Redwoods by Harte, Bret
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
