plasterer

UK: /ˈplɑːstərə^r/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

plas•ter /ˈplæstɚ/   n. [uncountable]

1. Building a pasty mixture of lime, sand, and water, applied to walls, ceilings, etc., and allowed to harden and dry.
2. Building, Fine Art plaster of Paris.
3. Medicine a solid preparation spread upon cloth or other material to form a case, then applied to the body, esp. for some healing purpose, as holding a broken limb in place:
   He had one arm in plaster.

v. 

4. Building [~ + object] to cover, fill, or smear with plaster.
5. to cause to lay flat: [~ + object + down]
   He used some gooey hair tonic to plaster his hair down.
   [~ + down + object]
   to plaster down his hair.
6. to spread or cover with something, esp. thickly or too much:
   [~ + object] The students plastered the walls with posters.
7. Informal Terms [~ + object]
   • to defeat completely:
     In the last game they plastered us 10-0.

plas•ter•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

plas•ter  (plas′tər, plä′stər), n. 

1. Building a composition, as of lime or gypsum, sand, water, and sometimes hair or other fiber, applied in a pasty form to walls, ceilings, etc., and allowed to harden and dry.
2. powdered gypsum.
3. Building, Fine Art See plaster of Paris. 
4. Medicine a solid or semisolid preparation spread upon cloth, plastic, or other material and applied to the body, esp. for some healing purpose.

v.t. 

5. Building to cover (walls, ceilings, etc.) with plaster.
6. to treat with gypsum or plaster of Paris.
7. to lay flat like a layer of plaster.
8. Building to daub or fill with plaster or something similar.
9. Medicine to apply a plaster to (the body, a wound, etc.).
10. to overspread with something, esp. thickly or excessively:
    a wall plastered with posters.
11. Informal Terms
    • to defeat decisively;
      trounce;
      drub.
    • to knock down or injure, as by a blow or beating.
    • to inflict serious damage or injury on by heavy bombing, shelling, or other means of attack.

• Greek émplastron salve, alteration of émplaston, neuter of émplastos daubed; see em-², -plast
• Medieval Latin plastrum plaster (both medical and building senses), aphetic variant of Latin emplastrum
• Middle English, Old English bef. 1000

plas′ter•er, n. 
plas′ter•i•ness, n. 
plas′ter•like′, plas′ter•y, adj.