elastic
Americanadjective
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capable of returning to its original length, shape, etc., after being stretched, deformed, compressed, or expanded.
an elastic waistband; elastic fiber.
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spontaneously expansive, as gases.
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flexible; accommodating; adaptable; tolerant.
elastic rules and regulations.
- Antonyms:
- unyielding, intolerant, inflexible, rigid
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springing back or rebounding; springy.
He walks with an elastic step.
-
readily recovering from depression or exhaustion; buoyant.
an elastic temperament.
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Economics. relatively responsive to change, as to a proportionate increase in demand as the result of a decrease in price.
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Physics. of, relating to, or noting a body having the property of elasticity.
noun
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elastics
plural
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webbing, or material in the form of a band, made elastic, as with strips of rubber.
-
something made from this material, as a garter.
adjective
-
(of a body or material) capable of returning to its original shape after compression, expansion, stretching, or other deformation
-
capable of adapting to change
an elastic schedule
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quick to recover from fatigue, dejection, etc; buoyant
-
springy or resilient
an elastic walk
-
(of gases) capable of expanding spontaneously
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physics (of collisions) involving no overall change in translational kinetic energy
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made of elastic
noun
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tape, cord, or fabric containing interwoven strands of flexible rubber or similar substance allowing it to stretch and return to its original shape
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something made of elastic, such as a rubber band or a garter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonelasticadjective
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semielasticadjective
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superelasticadjective
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unelasticadjective
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elasticallyadverb
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nonelasticallyadverb
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semielasticallyadverb
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superelasticallyadverb
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unelasticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of elastic
1645–55; < New Latin elasticus expanding spontaneously, equivalent to Greek elast ( ós ) (late variant of elatós ductile, beaten (of metal), derivative of elaúnein, elân beat out, forge) + -icus -ic
Explanation
Elastic is the rubber-based material that resumes its original shape after stretching or compression, and anything described as elastic is flexible. In 1923 American inventor William H Spencer took elastic one step further, creating the elastic band — the Internet of its day for bored office workers seeking amusement. The properties of elastic have long lent themselves to metaphorical use, so that anything or anyone that's capable of adaptation or is flexible in its nature can be termed elastic.
Vocabulary lists containing elastic
"The Constitution"
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Economics
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The Contender
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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:
Premeditation appears to be an elastic concept in Baker County.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
He still has that elastic yogi’s body and can still slither across the baseline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
"The ballista spider's snare is bioengineered to store elastic energy in the silk and rapidly release it, giving it incredible instantaneous power density -- greater than any other specialized silk-based biological catapults," said Professor Narendra.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Over subsequent releases – the exuberant Shooting Star, external, or the braggadocious Woke Up, external – they crystallised a musical vision that fused sci-fi aesthetics to the elastic grooves of 90s R&B.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Rachel wore her green linen Easter suit she was so vain of, and her long whitish hair pulled off her forehead with a wide pink elastic hairband.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Practically overnight, I had to adjust to how my new glasses slid down my nose and the way the elastics tethered to my braces snapped like rubber bands in a junk drawer.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2025
So silk scrunchies are a go-to at home: “They don’t pull or snag” the way other hair elastics would, she says.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
In the mornings, it took no small effort for Avril to pull the hair back from her face and impose a kind of order on it with elastics and hair grips.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 9, 2021
"Tights must not be coloured, hair must not be dyed, the colour of hair elastics is fixed, and they must not be worn on the wrist," she says.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2019
Other waiters wore readymade bows attached to elastics.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
