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leatherette

leatherette

2 5.2
A material made from plastic that looks like leather
  • noun
  • /ˌlɛðərˈɛt/
translation icon : cuero sintético
  • It's a black leatherette travel bag with a tartan design.
  • leatherette seat
  • leatherette booth
  • leatherette banquette

These have these soft leatherette ear cushions.

Examples

  • Opened before him on the rug is a volume of blue leatherette.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Her book had that pebbly leatherette navy-blue grain usually found on diaries and giveaway Bibles.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I shrink down in my leatherette seat.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • These have these soft leatherette ear cushions.

  • Russell and William sit in two large red-leatherette seats in the hotel lobby.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Walter, just arriving, is carrying a leatherette satchel in one hand and a large plastic carrier in the other.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I am an experienced seamstress, and I decided to use leatherette (pleather) on the outside.

    Blog text (12)
  • My father reached to the counter for a menu, a typed page under clear plastic, ringed in black leatherette.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The Seagrave apartment is dirty and depressing, featuring cheap, cigarette-scarred leatherette furniture.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The green room was small, with an old leatherette couch and yellowing walls.

Synonyms

pleather
vsleatherette
  • Informal
4 4.4

A man-made material that looks and feels like leather

is marketed as a cheaper synthetic focusing on lower cost than realism
imitation leather
vsleatherette
1 3.5

A material made to look and feel like real leather

is the general term but stresses being typically less expensive
Naugahyde
vsleatherette
8.1

Covered with a leather-like material used on furniture and jackets

is a broader nonbrand term that highlights lower price not label
clarino
vsleatherette
  • Specialized
9.6

A strong, light man-made material that looks like leather

is a general usually cheaper synthetic rather than a technical fabric

How Like Leather

leather
509 1.0
leatherette
2 5.2
vinyl
65 3.9
plastic
798 1.0

Surface Forms

leatherette singular
leatherettes plural

Morphology

leatherette = leather (semi-transparent) = leather + ette

Formed from 'leather' + the diminutive/imitative suffix '-ette'; the idea 'imitation leather' is derivable but '-ette' may be unfamiliar or misinterpreted by some learners.

Etymology

Leatherette combines leather and the ending -ette, which means 'small' or 'like'. So leatherette is a material made to be 'like' leather but not real leather, often cheaper.