laminate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
laminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
laminated,
past participle, past
-
laminating
present participle
-
to separate or split into thin layers.
-
to form (metal) into a thin plate, as by beating or rolling.
-
to construct from layers of material bonded together.
-
to cover or overlay with laminae.
verb (used without object)
-
laminates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
laminated,
past participle, past
-
laminating
present participle
adjective
noun
-
laminates
plural
verb
-
(tr) to make (material in sheet form) by bonding together two or more thin sheets
-
to split or be split into thin sheets
-
(tr) to beat, form, or press (material, esp metal) into thin sheets
-
(tr) to cover or overlay with a thin sheet of material
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
laminatesimple
-
laminatessimple
-
have laminatedperfect
-
has laminatedperfect
-
am laminatingprogressive
-
are laminatingprogressive
-
is laminatingprogressive
-
have been laminatingperfect progressive
-
has been laminatingperfect progressive
Past
-
laminatedsimple
-
had laminatedperfect
-
was laminatingprogressive
-
were laminatingprogressive
-
had been laminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of laminate
From the New Latin word lāminātus, dating back to 1660–70. See lamina, -ate 1
Explanation
To laminate is to make something, especially paper, stronger and thicker by layering sheets of clear plastic over it. You might want to laminate your flimsy library card to protect it. Today all states laminate drivers' licenses, making them a sturdy plastic card rather than the insubstantial piece of paper they used to be. You might decide to laminate a poster for a school presentation you're giving, or laminate some old photos to protect them. Most methods used to laminate involve heat and some type of sticky or adhesive substance. The Latin root is lamina, "thin slice, leaf, or layer."
Vocabulary lists containing laminate
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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From the Desk of Zoe Washington
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Book Scavenger
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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.
See Examples For:
Drivers include a strong recovery in demand for AWS Trainium—a family of purpose-built AI accelerator chips— which should materially boost the company’s M8-grade copper-clad laminate shipments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Mr Peck said he was disappointed by the way samples of a large piece of laminate flooring in the lounge, where it was believed the fire started, had been taken.
From BBC ● May 21, 2025
Chanel Miller has wanted to be a children’s book author and illustrator since the second grade, when she started writing stories that her teacher, Mrs. Thomas, would laminate.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2024
“You couldn’t create a rigid box before without a laminate because it would damage. And now there’s a varnish in the market that you can use, and it’s absolutely brilliant.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
He sets the pan of eggplant parmigiana on the small laminate table between them.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Qnity also makes flexible laminates, which allow circuits to bend and fit on printed circuit boards.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 31, 2026
The furniture and partitions were made from plastics and laminates, so they cost far less.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
I walked back up the loading dock ramp with two all-access laminates, one said Bill Walton, the other said Susie Walton.”
From Seattle Times ● May 27, 2024
She also fabricated samples of thin-ply carbon fiber laminates.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024
Ever Credit is a unit of Kingboard Holdings, a laminates maker and property investor.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024
I studied the pastries while pretending not to listen: tea-infused buns knotted with candied citrus, laminated pastry layered with spiced cream cheese, craggy oat muffins dotted with boysenberry preserves.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
It’s a foundation for target-date funds, pension models and financial advisers’ laminated pie chart.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
"A lot of these layers are laminated together to create quite a stiff structure. Often stiffer than the leather balls that were very simple and just one piece of leather."
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Maybe add some laminated instructions with particularly tricky systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
One of them handed the driver something that looked like a laminated ID card, and the driver handed over something that looked like folded bills, then waved and drove off.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
We are not looking for a $76 grocery bill for a single meal, a sink full of mixing bowls or several hours spent laminating and proofing dough before anyone else wakes up.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
The day before, there had been a mad dash to finish printing out programs for visitors and laminating signs for the event.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2022
By 1960 Mr. O’Neill was laminating an elastic nylon jersey lining to the neoprene foam to prevent it from tearing, and to make it easier to put on.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2017
I then made the seemingly-safe assumption that Studio Canal, the film’s UK distributor, probably wouldn’t be laminating my work and calling me for a quote.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 9, 2015
But even though the baking sun is slowly laminating me, I am happy.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.
