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# plastic

«plastic» in Mova's school dictionary: **A light, strong material made in factories, often from…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (plastic, plastics); adjective (plastic — made of plastic; easily shaped)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A light, strong material made in factories, often from oil, used for bottles, toys and bags. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#m1)

2) As an adjective, made of plastic: "a plastic cup". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#m2)

3) As an adjective, easy to bend and shape. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#m3)

4) (Informal) Credit or bank cards: "pay with plastic". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In science, plastic is a material: waterproof, light, can be bent or moulded, an insulator (does not carry electricity); it takes hundreds of years to break down, so reduce, reuse and recycle; plastic in the sea hurts animals. In safety: keep plastic bags away from babies. Phrases: plastic bag, plastic bottle, single-use plastic, plastic surgery.

### examples

- This bottle is made of plastic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x1)
- Plastic does not let electricity through. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x2)
- Recycle your plastic bottles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x3)
- Plastic in the sea can hurt turtles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x4)
- Keep plastic bags away from babies. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x5)
- Lego bricks are plastic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x6)
- Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x7)
- Use a reusable bag instead of a plastic one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/#x8)

### note

Usually uncountable as a material: "made of plastic"; "plastics" for kinds. Plastic is an insulator, so plugs and wires are covered in it. Plastic surgery doesn't use plastic; "plastic" there means "shaping".

### In the corpora

- [Councils have recycling rules about which bin takes plastic, paper, glass or food, and the rules differ from place to place.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/14/)
- [Acrylic becomes plastic when dry and does not wash out easily, so artists wear old clothes or aprons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/14-painting-paints-brushes-mess-and-mistakes/16/)
- [A floating plastic bag looks like a jellyfish to a leatherback, which is one big reason to keep plastic out of the sea.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/31-turtles-and-tortoises/11/)
- [Sea turtles eat jellyfish, and floating plastic bags look like jellyfish, so turtles sometimes swallow plastic, which can block their stomachs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/133-finding-nemo-dory-turtles-and-the-reef/12/)
- [Animals can get their heads or beaks caught in plastic drink rings, so cutting the rings before throwing them away helps.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/226-kindness-to-wild-animals/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «plastic» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plastic/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.