rubber band

American  

noun

• rubber bands
  plural

1. a narrow, circular or oblong band of rubber, used for holding things together, as papers or a box and its lid.

---

rubber band British  

noun

1. Also called: elastic band.  a continuous loop of thin rubber, used to hold papers, etc, together

---

Usage

What else does rubber band mean? The handy, dandy rubber band, useful for flinging at people and holding together important things, like stacks of cash money, as rubber bands refer to in hip-hop slang. Rubber bands also come up in fashion contexts, from bracelets and hairstyles, and a common complaint for those who have to use special ones for orthodontic braces.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rubber bands
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rubber band

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rubber band

You slice it the wrong way and, instead of a tender, juicy bite, you’re left gnawing on something that tastes like a rubber band.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

Unlike gravity or electromagnetism, the strong force becomes stronger as particles move farther apart, similar to a rubber band stretching tighter the more it is pulled.

From Science Daily ● May 19, 2026

But sometimes a disturbance can cause the polar vortex to stretch like a rubber band.

From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026

Its price is now over 100% above its 200-day moving average, which means the “proverbial rubber band is extremely stretched,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 25, 2026

The rubber band snapped and sailed through the air, hitting Clem squarely on the nose.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney