stereotype
[ ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer- ]
/ ˈstɛr i əˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər- /
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
OTHER WORDS FOR stereotype
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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-/, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use stereotype in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for stereotype
stereotype
/ (ˈstɛrɪəˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər-) /
noun
- 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
- 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)
- to make a stereotype of
- 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, adjectiveCollins 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.