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Teflon

American  
[tef-lon] / ˈtɛf lɒn /
Trademark.

  1. a fluorocarbon polymer with slippery, nonsticking properties; polytetrafluoroethylene.

adjective

  1. characterized by imperviousness to blame or criticism.

    a Teflon politician.
Teflon British  
/ ˈtɛflɒn /

noun

  1. polytetrafluoroethylene, when used in nonstick cooking vessels

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. facetious denoting the ability to evade blame

    the Teflon president
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

So you don’t have to worry about getting cancer from your Teflon pan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

He thrives, Teflon and uncanceled, pretty much everywhere.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Chemist Roy Plunkett accidentally created Teflon while experimenting with refrigerant gases.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

Sales of Chemours’ advanced materials business, which makes Teflon, among other products, fell 4%, to $312 million.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

They move fast and efficiently through dense mobs, as if they have a Teflon coat, very rarely bumping into one another.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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.