putty
1 Americannoun
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putties
plural
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a compound of whiting and linseed oil, of a doughlike consistency when fresh, used to secure windowpanes, patch woodwork defects, etc.
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any of various other compounds used for similar purposes.
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any of various substances for sealing the joints of tubes or pipes, composed of linseed oil with red lead, white lead, iron oxide, etc.
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a creamy mixture of lime and water, partially dried and mixed with sand and plaster of Paris to make a finish plaster coat.
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any person or thing easily molded, influenced, etc..
We were putty in his hands.
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light brownish- or yellowish-gray.
verb (used with object)
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putties,
present (3rd person singular)
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puttied,
past participle, past
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puttying
present participle
idioms
noun
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putties
plural
noun
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a stiff paste made of whiting and linseed oil that is used to fix glass panes into frames and to fill cracks or holes in woodwork, etc
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any substance with a similar consistency, function, or appearance
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a mixture of lime and water with sand or plaster of Paris used on plaster as a finishing coat
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( as modifier )
a putty knife
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See putty powder
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a person who is easily influenced or persuaded
he's putty in her hands
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a colour varying from a greyish-yellow to a greyish-brown or brownish-grey
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( as adjective )
putty-coloured
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informal worthless or useless
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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puttysimple
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puttiessimple
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have puttiedperfect
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has puttiedperfect
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am puttyingprogressive
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are puttyingprogressive
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is puttyingprogressive
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have been puttyingperfect progressive
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has been puttyingperfect progressive
Past
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puttiedsimple
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had puttiedperfect
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was puttyingprogressive
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were puttyingprogressive
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had been puttyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of putty
First recorded in 1625–35, putty is from the French word potée, literally, (something) potted. See pot 1, -ee
Explanation
Putty is the clay-like substance you can use to fill holes in a wall before painting it, or to secure a piece of glass in a window frame. Putty comes in different colors and consistencies, but it's generally a very soft doughy material that can fit it small or awkward spaces and hardens after a certain amount of time. Before painting a wall, you might want to putty any holes or cracks, using a putty knife. After the putty dries, you can sand it smooth. The word comes from the French potée, "polishing powder."
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:
The new line comprises a series of modeling compound kits that guide users through the process of turning putty into floral arrangements designed to be displayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The business of the North American Toy Fair, an annual showcase of the latest in silly putty, monster trucks and board games, is fun.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2025
Tucked inside Aardman’s putty preoccupations is a potent philosophical statement about the irreplaceable quality of the human touch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024
But after so many years in the business, Griffin understands how to maneuver her audience and keep them molded in her hands like putty.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2024
“Should I have a putty knife?” she said.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Dubuffet has rushed from mixed pastes and putties to butterfly-wing collages to painting with knives and forks.
From Time Magazine Archive
Lina wrapped her legs in putties to prevent varicose veins.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
A few yards away, Lieutenant Lawson was sitting on the ground rearranging the folds of his putties, and talking to another subaltern.
From Soldiers of the Queen by Harold Avery
You cannot escape seeing Paw and Maw, and Cynthy in her pants, and Hattie and Roweny in overalls and putties.
From Maw's Vacation The Story of a Human Being in the Yellowstone by Emerson Hough
A tall man in khaki and putties stood on the top of the bank looking at them, a revolver in the holster strapped at his side.
From The Wolf Patrol A Tale of Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts by John Finnemore
Q: We want to replace or reglaze our 1966 Colonial's three bow windows, which have single-pane glass puttied into wooden frames.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 4, 2020
In an early scene in the film, his hair puttied upward, he apologizes for a glitch in his stream.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 27, 2019
Film historians have puttied the gaps in “Battle” with explanatory title cards, but these could never replicate Laurel’s look of thought-free innocence, Hardy’s frown of eternal exasperation.
From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2015
His peasant frame is the perfect support for that nose, which seems less a theatrical device, more a natural outgrowth of Cyrano's spirit than it does when puttied on more lissome leading men.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two tiny windows were created out of bits of glass that had been puttied together.
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
The rest of my days will be spent in patching and painting and puttying and caulking my priceless possession and in looking the other way when an imploring argument or a damaging fact approaches.
From What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain
So here and there she went, hammering, and screwing, and puttying, and painting, finding an outlet for much latent energy, and a use for her long repressed, although long suspected mechanical ability.
From Cicely and Other Stories by Sears Gallagher
Unless this last practice is adopted throughout, the ordinary process of cementing must be omitted and careful puttying substituted for it.
From Stained Glass Work A text-book for students and workers in glass by C. W. Whall
Affix the braces just after filling, using brads and puttying the holes with putty colored to match the filler.
From Mission Furniture How to Make It, Part I by H. H. (Henry Haven) Windsor
She is engaged in puttying up the one gaping joint in their armour.
From The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R. Austin (Richard Austin) Freeman
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.
