pulp

[puhlp]

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.

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.

pulp

/ pʌlp /

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

3. 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)

pulp

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.

pulp

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

Other Word Forms

• pulper noun
• pulpless adjective
• pulplike adjective
• depulp verb (used with object)
• unpulped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulp¹

1555–65; earlier pulpe < Latin pulpa flesh, pulp of fruit

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulp¹

C16: from Latin pulpa

Example Sentences

“They set up this murder. They beat these girls to a bloody pulp.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Lee, being Lee, believes otherwise, spurred on by his discovery of pages of purple prose that Dale hid inside his Jim Thompson crime pulps.

Read more on Salon

I dragged the tomato smooge, pulp catching in the crevices, a ritual both primal and exact.

Read more on Salon

“It is more important to protect these lands than to get a little more pulp for paper, or to build one more mine or one more road,” she said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"You battered his face to a pulp while you were, as you later stated, out of control with anger."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• paste