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Glite Dictionary
sticking plaster

sticking plaster

2.5
A small sticky bandage put on a small cut to protect it
  • noun
  • /ˈstɪkɪŋ ˈplæstə/
  • UK
translation icon : tira adhesiva
  • - Are you allergic to sticking plaster?

Examples

  • For minor injuries, sticking plasters are ideal.

  • For minor injuries, adhesive strips or sticking plasters are ideal.

  • Sometimes medication can crowbar people out of a particularly deep depressive state, but more often than not, it's just a sticking plaster that fails to address the underlying and therefore causative issue.

    Blog text (18)

  • I need a sticking plaster to cover this small cut.

  • He applied a piece of sticking plaster to the scrape on his arm.

Synonyms

plaster
vssticking plaster
  • UK
5 1.0

A small sticky piece of cloth or plastic used to cover a cut

has identical meaning and is an alternative label for the same item
adhesive bandage
vssticking plaster
1 2.2

A small sticky strip with a soft pad that you put on the skin to cover small cuts

is the simpler covering without the extra pad and support function
adhesive plaster
vssticking plaster
  • UK
3.2

A small sticky bandage that covers and protects minor cuts

focuses on general minor wound covering rather than holding other dressings
court plaster
vssticking plaster
  • Archaic
9.9

A small sticky patch that covers a minor cut

is the common modern covering without historical materials or old use

Surface Forms

sticking plaster singular
sticking plasters plural

Morphology

stick + plaster

The phrase is compositionally literal: 'sticking' (adhesive) modifies 'plaster' (a small bandage), so the meaning 'adhesive bandage for minor wounds' is directly derivable from the constituents. This ordinary adjective–noun composition is cross-linguistically transparent (the fact that 'sticking plaster' is chiefly British does not affect its compositional transparency), so a B1 learner who knows the component words will readily understand it.

Etymology

Sticking plaster comes from the image of a small plaster meaning a soft pad that sticks to the skin to cover a cut. So the picture of a sticky pad covering a wound explains why it means 'a small adhesive dressing' today.