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stereotype

[ ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer- ]
/ ˈstɛr i əˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər- /
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See synonyms for: stereotype / stereotyped / stereotypes / stereotyping on Thesaurus.com
noun
a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group: Cowboys and Indians are American stereotypes.
a set form; convention: Most important for lexicographers are the idiomatic stereotypes whose meaning cannot be inferred from knowledge of the meanings of the individual items.
Printing.
  1. a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.
  2. a plate made by this process.
verb (used with object), ster·e·o·typed, ster·e·o·typ·ing.
to characterize or regard as a stereotype: The actor has been stereotyped as a villain.
to give a fixed form to.
Printing. to make a stereotype of.
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Origin of stereotype

First recorded in 1790–1800; stereo- + -type

OTHER WORDS FROM stereotype

ster·e·o·typ·er, ster·e·o·typ·ist, nounster·e·o·typ·i·cal, ster·e·o·typ·ic [ster-ee-uh-tip-ik, steer-], /ˌstɛr i əˈtɪp ɪk, ˌstɪər-/, adjective

Words nearby stereotype

stereotape, stereotaxic, stereotaxis, stereotomy, stereotropism, stereotype, stereotyped, stereotypical, stereotypy, stereovision, steric
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to stereotype

pattern, pigeonhole, average, boilerplate, convention, custom, fashion, formula, institution, mold, catalogue, conventionalize, define, dub, institutionalize, normalize, regulate, standardize, systematize, typecast

How to use stereotype in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stereotype

stereotype
/ (ˈstɛrɪəˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər-) /
noun
  1. a method of producing cast-metal printing plates from a mould made from a forme of type matter in papier-mâché or some other material
  2. the plate so made
another word for stereotypy
an idea, trait, convention, etc, that has grown stale through fixed usage
sociol a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly
verb (tr)
  1. to make a stereotype of
  2. to print from a stereotype
to impart a fixed usage or convention to

Derived forms of stereotype

stereotyper or stereotypist, nounstereotypic (ˌstɛrɪə ˈtɪpɪk, ˌstɪər-) or stereotypical, adjective
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

Cultural definitions for stereotype (1 of 2)

stereotype

A too-simple and therefore distorted image of a group, such as “Football players are stupid” or “The English are cold and unfriendly people.”

Cultural definitions for stereotype (2 of 2)

stereotype

A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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