Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

sandpaper

[sand-pey-per]
See more synonyms for sandpaper on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. strong paper coated with a layer of sand or other abrasive, used for smoothing or polishing.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to smooth or polish with or as if with sandpaper.
Show More

Origin of sandpaper

First recorded in 1815–25; sand + paper
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

shinerubsmoothfurbishglossglazeburnishbrushscourpumicesandpaper

Examples from the Web for sandpaper

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The sandpaper must be applied unsparingly and always with the grain.

    Boys' Book of Model Boats

    Raymond Francis Yates

  • You were just rubbing the sandpaper and the cloth together and singing.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • He could hear a faint rasping like the rustle of sandpaper, as they did so.

  • Move the third brush only 1/16 inch and then sandpaper the brush seat with 00 sandpaper.

  • His throat was like sandpaper and the words came out in a rasp.

    The Dark Door

    Alan Edward Nourse

British Dictionary definitions for sandpaper

sandpaper

noun
  1. (formerly) a strong paper coated with sand for smoothing and polishing
  2. a common name for glasspaper
Show More
verb
  1. (tr) to polish or grind (a surface) with or as if with sandpaper
Show More
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

Word Origin and History for sandpaper

n.

also sand-paper, 1788, from sand (n.) + paper (n.).

Show More

v.

1835, from sandpaper (n.). Related: Sandpapered; sandpapering.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper