pipe clay


noun
  1. a fine, white clay used for making tobacco pipes, whitening parts of military or other dress, etc.

Origin of pipe clay

1
First recorded in 1750–60

Other definitions for pipe-clay (2 of 2)

pipe-clay
[ pahyp-kley ]

verb (used with object)
  1. to whiten with pipe clay.

Origin of pipe-clay

2
First recorded in 1825–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pipe clay in a sentence

  • Arrange the pieces of carpet on the board, and mark off the size of each part required with a piece of chalk or pipeclay.

  • In other kennels, bull-terriers' white coats were still further whitened by the harsh rubbing of pipeclay into the tender skin.

    Lad: A Dog | Albert Payson Terhune
  • They used to call it "Th' Pipeclay" thirty years ago, but the old black names have been restored.

    Children of the Bush | Henry Lawson
  • When mourning for the dead, the hair is plastered all over with mud, and the eyes and forehead are painted round with pipeclay.

  • Franois Martin was engaged in 1774 for his skill in preparing different pastes for manufacturing porcelain and pipeclay.

British Dictionary definitions for pipeclay

pipeclay

/ (ˈpaɪpˌkleɪ) /


noun
  1. a fine white pure clay, used in the manufacture of tobacco pipes and pottery and for whitening leather and similar materials

verb
  1. (tr) to whiten with pipeclay

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