plaster Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a mixture of lime or gypsum with sand and water; hardens into a smooth solid; used to cover walls and ceilings
  2. noun any of several gypsum cements; a white powder (a form of calcium sulphate) that forms a paste when mixed with water and hardens into a solid; used in making molds and sculptures and casts for broken limbs
    plaster of Paris.
  3. noun a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc.
    cataplasm; poultice.
  4. noun a surface of hardened plaster (as on a wall or ceiling)
    plasterwork.
    • there were cracks in the plaster
  5. noun adhesive tape used in dressing wounds
    adhesive plaster; sticking plaster.
  6. verb apply a heavy coat to
    stick on; plaster over.
  7. verb cover conspicuously or thickly, as by pasting something on
    beplaster.
    • The demonstrators plastered the hallways with posters
    • She let the walls of the apartment be beplastered with stucco
  8. verb affix conspicuously
    • She plastered warnings all over the wall
  9. verb apply a plaster cast to
    • plaster the broken arm
  10. verb coat with plaster
    daub.
    • daub the wall
  11. verb dress by covering with a therapeutic substance
    poultice.

WordNet

Plas"ter noun
Etymology
AS., a plaster (in sense 1), fr. L. emplastrum, Gr. , , fr. to daub on, stuff in; in + to mold: cf. OF. plastre a plaster (in sense 2), F. plâtre. Cf. Plastic, Emplaster, Piaster.
Definitions
  1. (Med.) An external application of a consistency harder than ointment, prepared for use by spreading it on linen, leather, silk, or other material. It is adhesive at the ordinary temperature of the body, and is used, according to its composition, to produce a medicinal effect, to bind parts together, etc.; as, a porous plaster; sticking plaster.
  2. A composition of lime, water, and sand, with or without hair as a bond, for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions of houses. See Mortar.
  3. Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, especially when ground, as used for making ornaments, figures, moldings, etc.; or calcined gypsum used as a fertilizer.
Plas"ter transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. OF. plastrer to plaster (in sense 2), F. plâtrer.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Plastered ; present participle & verbal noun Plastering
Definitions
  1. To cover with a plaster, as a wound or sore.
  2. To overlay or cover with plaster, as the ceilings and walls of a house.
  3. Fig.: To smooth over; to cover or conceal the defects of; to hide, as with a covering of plaster. Bale.

Webster 1913