plaster
Americannoun
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plasters
plural
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a composition, as of lime or gypsum, sand, water, and sometimes hair or other fiber, applied in a pasty form to walls, ceilings, etc., and allowed to harden and dry.
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powdered gypsum.
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a solid or semisolid preparation spread upon cloth, plastic, or other material and applied to the body, especially for some healing purpose.
verb (used with object)
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plasters,
present (3rd person singular)
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plastered,
past participle, past
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plastering
present participle
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to cover (walls, ceilings, etc.) with plaster.
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to treat with gypsum or plaster of Paris.
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to lay flat like a layer of plaster.
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to daub or fill with plaster or something similar.
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to apply a plaster to (the body, a wound, etc.).
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to overspread with something, especially thickly or excessively.
a wall plastered with posters.
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Informal.
noun
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a mixture of lime, sand, and water, sometimes stiffened with hair or other fibres, that is applied to the surface of a wall or ceiling as a soft paste that hardens when dry
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an adhesive strip of material, usually medicated, for dressing a cut, wound, etc
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short for mustard plaster plaster of Paris
verb
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to coat (a wall, ceiling, etc) with plaster
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(tr) to apply like plaster
she plastered make-up on her face
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(tr) to cause to lie flat or to adhere
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(tr) to apply a plaster cast to
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slang (tr) to strike or defeat with great force
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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plasterernoun
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plasterinessnoun
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replasterverb (used with object)
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unplasterverb (used with object)
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plasterlikeadjective
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plasteryadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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plastersimple
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plasterssimple
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have plasteredperfect
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has plasteredperfect
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am plasteringprogressive
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are plasteringprogressive
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is plasteringprogressive
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have been plasteringperfect progressive
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has been plasteringperfect progressive
Past
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plasteredsimple
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had plasteredperfect
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was plasteringprogressive
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were plasteringprogressive
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had been plasteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of plaster
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English, from Medieval Latin plastrum “plaster” (both medical and building senses), aphetic variant of Latin emplastrum, from Greek émplastron “salve,” alteration of émplaston, neuter of émplastos “daubed”; see em- 2, -plast
Explanation
Plaster is a building material that's applied as a wet paste and dries very hard and smooth. The walls inside your house might be made of plaster. New houses typically have interior walls made of drywall, rather than plaster, but older homes usually have many plaster surfaces. Plaster starts as a mixture of lime, gypsum, sand, or cement that's mixed with water. This soft substance is applied to surfaces where it hardens — either for walls, works of art, or as casts used to hold broken bones steady. In Britain, a plaster is also a sticky bandage, while an American would call this a Band-Aid.
Vocabulary lists containing plaster
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:
Our critic noted “This is the largest presentation of Giacometti’s plaster sculptures in the U.S.—and for those who know only his bronzes, a few of which are included in the show, it is revelatory.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
She suggests looking for affordable vintage oil paintings, exhibition posters or framed sketches at antique markets, then securing them with command strips so they can be removed without leaving holes in the plaster.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Telltale signs of water damage include discolored wall panels, black mold, cracking plaster or peeling paint, just to name a few.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
The Maryville coach chose “spoofhounds” after the ugly, plaster of Paris dog from a recent carnival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
I flinched at the grisly crack of plaster.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
And compared with the bronzes, the plasters are especially sensitive, fragile—you’re drawn to protect them, but any touch seems like it would be too much for these waifish bodies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
He plasters them across the city in hopes of bringing ‘little expressions of joy’ to Angelenos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
All of the commonly used sanitary equipment such as paper, cotton, surgical masks, and commercial plasters exhibited intrinsic multi-pathway antibacterial activity with rapid responses against a broad spectrum of microbial species.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2024
He said the industry needed a "long-term strategy" and "not just sticking plasters" from the government.
From BBC ● May 15, 2023
The shampoos and lotions and balms that used to be at the back of the store I shift to shelves near the pharmacy, so that people filling prescriptions can also buy plasters and ointments.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
About the theory that she would only be engaging with these people if she were plastered?
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
In Manila, her face is plastered across a billboard on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the city’s longest stretch of highway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The sides of the shuttle buses ferrying Open fans to Royal Birkdale are plastered with a picture of Tommy Fleetwood holding the Claret Jug.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Her anguish is shared outside morgues as well as in hospitals, where photos of missing persons are plastered on walls and utility poles, written on handwritten pieces of paper.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
I wonder if his face hurts because the same smile has been plastered on it since this morning.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Branding was a big part of the event, with Pakistan dubbing the process the "Islamabad Talks", and plastering a logo combining the Pakistani, US and Iranian flags all over the city.
From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026
In 2018, after trying a variety of less manual roles, such as plastering and carpet fitting, he realised he could no longer hold down a job.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
To say an animal is experiencing a certain feeling is not plastering a human emotion on an inhuman thing.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2025
Beyond the additional house chores, Krasinski said Blunt had joked about another way to celebrate his new title: plastering the walls of their Brooklyn home with his magazine cover.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024
“Since when is plastering a bumper sticker on something that serious of a crime?”
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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