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elastic

Syllabification: (e·las·tic)
Pronunciation: /iˈlastik/
Translate elastic | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of elastic

adjective

  • (of an object or material) able to resume its normal shape spontaneously after contraction, dilatation, or distortion.
  • able to encompass variety and change; flexible and adaptable:the definition of nationality is elastic in this cosmopolitan country
  • Economics (of demand or supply) sensitive to changes in price or income:the labor supply is very elastic
  • Physics (of a collision) involving no decrease of kinetic energy.

noun

  • cord, tape, or fabric, typically woven with strips of rubber, that returns to its original length or shape after being stretched.

Derivatives

elastically

Pronunciation: /-(ə)lē/
adverb

elasticize

Pronunciation: /iˈlastəˌsīz/
verb

Origin:

mid 17th century (originally describing a gas in the sense 'expanding spontaneously to fill the available space'): from modern Latin elasticus, from Greek elastikos 'propulsive', from elaunein 'to drive'

elastic in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of elastic in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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