elastic: Meaning and Definition of

e•las•tic

Pronunciation: (i-las'tik), [key]
— adj.
  1. capable of returning to its original length, shape, etc., after being stretched, deformed, compressed, or expanded: an elastic waistband; elastic fiber.
  2. spontaneously expansive, as gases.
  3. flexible; accommodating; adaptable; tolerant: elastic rules and regulations.
  4. springing back or rebounding; springy: He walks with an elastic step.
  5. readily recovering from depression or exhaustion; buoyant: an elastic temperament.
  6. relatively responsive to change, as to a proportionate increase in demand as the result of a decrease in price. Cf.(def. 2).
  7. of, pertaining to, or noting a body having the property of elasticity.
—n.
  1. webbing, or material in the form of a band, made elastic, as with strips of rubber.
  2. something made from this material, as a garter.
  3. See
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also: