From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplasterplas‧ter1 /ˈplɑːstə $ ˈplæstər/ ●○○ noun 1 [uncountable]AVSTBC a substance used to cover walls and ceilings with a smooth even surface. It consists of lime, water, and sand.2 [uncountable]MH plaster of Paris3 [countable, uncountable] British EnglishMH a piece of thin material that is stuck on to the skin to cover a small wound SYN bandaid American English4 → in plaster
Examples from the Corpus
plaster• Bronzes are created by building sand moulds of a plaster original, in itself a skilled and labour intensive job.• Three days after that, a plaster jacket was fitted from her shoulders to her hips.• There was a plaster model of the Eiffel Tower in there.• The midfield player broke an arm during the midweek draw with Arsenal and will be in plaster for six weeks.• It was mightily impressive bowling by any standards, and with his left hand in plaster it was quite remarkable.• The bone has failed to knit properly and his hand must remain in plaster.• Rather like Steve, who makes plaster casts of the vulva for drawer handles.• When hardened, smooth down with abrasive paper, then seal with plaster primer.plasterplaster2 verb [transitive] 1 COVERto put a wet usually sticky substance all over a surface so that it is thickly coveredbe plastered with something Her face was plastered with make-up.2 TCNto completely cover a surface with something, especially large pieces of paper, pictures etcbe plastered with something The windows were plastered with notices. The news of the wedding was plastered all over the papers (=was the main story in the newspapers).3 TBCto put wet plaster on a wall or ceiling We're plastering the bathroom.4 FLATto make your hair lie flat or stick to your headbe plastered to something His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.be plastered down/back Her hair had been plastered down by the rain.Grammar Plaster is usually passive in meanings 1,2 and 4. → plaster something ↔ over→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
plaster• The next time we come across that creep, he's plastered.• The news of the wedding was plastered all over the morning papers.• They report he appears to be drinking heavily, and occasionally shows up plastered at the office.• There is a broadsheet plastered crookedly to a wall near their bungalow.• He clasped the royal hand and plastered it with three lingering kisses.• All the surfaces were pale ochre mud and dung which the women plastered over stone each year.• A lorry rolled past us along the road, its crumbling body bright with painted pictures plastered over with dust.• Small Jerichos plaster patches of basalt in the new flows of warm water.• A team of builders from the coast are still plastering the vaults of the vestibule which even with scaffolding are out of reach.be plastered with something• The wall was plastered with old movie posters.Origin plaster1 (900-1000) Latin emplastrum, from Greek, from emplassein “to plaster on”, from plassein; → PLASTIC2