Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Easily resuming original size or shape after being stretched or otherwise deformed; flexible. synonym: flexible.
  • adjective Relating to a collision in which the total kinetic energy is conserved.
  • adjective Quick to recover, as from disappointment; resilient.
  • adjective Capable of being adapted to change or a variety of circumstances.
  • adjective Economics Of, relating to, or being a good for which changes in price have a large effect on the quantity demanded or supplied.
  • noun A flexible stretchable fabric made with interwoven strands of rubber or an imitative synthetic fiber.
  • noun An object made of this fabric.
  • noun A rubber band.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Serving, as a catapult, to hurl missiles by the force of a spring.
  • Having, as a solid body, the power of returning to the form from which it is bent, extended, pressed, pulled, or distorted, as soon as the force applied is removed; having, as a fluid, the property of recovering its former volume after compression.
  • Figuratively Admitting of extension; capable of expanding and contracting, according to circumstances; hence, yielding and accommodating: as, an elastic conscience; elastic principles.
  • Possessing the power or quality of recovering from depression or exhaustion; able to resist a depressing or exhausting influence; capable of sustaining shocks without permanent injury: as, elastic spirits.
  • noun A piece or strip of india-rubber, or of webbing or belting made elastic by the incorporation of india-rubber, used as a band, garter, or the like. [U. S.]

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun colloq. An elastic woven fabric, as a belt, braces or suspenders, etc., made in part of India rubber.
  • adjective Springing back; having a power or inherent property of returning to the form from which a substance is bent, drawn, pressed, or twisted; springy; having the power of rebounding
  • adjective Able to return quickly to a former state or condition, after being depressed or overtaxed; having power to recover easily from shocks and trials
  • adjective (Min.) See Elaterite.
  • adjective (Geom.), (Mech.) The figure assumed by the longitudinal axis of an originally straight bar under any system of bending forces.
  • adjective those which have the property of expanding in all directions on the removal of external pressure, as the air, steam, and other gases and vapors.
  • adjective (Mech.) the limit of distortion, by bending, stretching, etc., that a body can undergo and yet return to its original form when relieved from stress; also, the unit force or stress required to produce this distortion. Within the elastic limit the distortion is directly proportional to the stress producing it.
  • adjective (Anat.) a variety of connective tissue consisting of a network of slender and very elastic fibers which are but slightly affected by acids or alkalies.
  • adjective caoutchouc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Capable of stretching; particularly, capable of stretching so as to return to an original shape or size when force is released.
  • adjective Made of elastic.
  • adjective Of clothing, elasticated.
  • adjective economics Sensitive to changes in price.
  • adjective springy; bouncy; vivacious
  • noun uncountable An elastic material used in clothing, particularly in waistbands and cuffs.
  • noun countable An elastic band.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a fabric made of yarns containing an elastic material
  • noun a narrow band of elastic rubber used to hold things (such as papers) together
  • adjective able to adjust readily to different conditions
  • adjective capable of resuming original shape after stretching or compression; springy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin elasticus, from Late Greek elastos, beaten, ductile, variant of Greek elatos, from elaunein, to beat out.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From New Latin elasticus ("elastic"), from Ancient Greek as if * ἐλαστής (elastēs) for ἐλατής (elatēs), equiv. to ἐλατήρ (elatēr, "a driver, hurler"), from ἐλαύνειν (elaunein, "to drive, set in motion, push, strike, beat out").

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Examples

  • There's a want of what I call elastic power in your mind, Catherine -- the very quality for which your father was so remarkable; the very quality which Mr. Presty used to say made him envy Mr. Norman.

    The Evil Genius Wilkie Collins 1856

  • Light streamed among them, reaching outward in elastic fields of energy.

    Archive 2010-04-01 Blue Tyson 2010

  • The big question that drives this is, for RPGs in general, and for a given product, how elastic is the price curve really?

    So What Is A “Fair” Price For A Gaming PDF? « Geek Related 2009

  • At the friendly neighborhood non-corporate thrift store, we found an old lady dress in the perfect fabric and shape (I removed the shoulder pads, the polyester lining and the elastic from the waist) $3.

    2008 September « Bodhicitta 2008

  • At the friendly neighborhood non-corporate thrift store, we found an old lady dress in the perfect fabric and shape (I removed the shoulder pads, the polyester lining and the elastic from the waist) $3.

    Our Staycation « Bodhicitta 2008

  • Each Moleskine notebook also has a built-in elastic closure that holds the sturdy cover closed a ribbon placeholder, and an expandable accordion pocket in the back made of cardboard for holding tickets, notes and clippings.

    Moleskine Daily Planner 2006 2005

  • Her best satin pair was sprouting tiny ropes of elastic from the waistband.

    Excerpt: The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares 2001

  • If you know anything about economics, you know the terms elastic, inelastic, and luxury in reference to goods and services.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2010

  • Politicians do understand that energy responds to what economists term elastic demand.

    McCook Daily Gazette Headlines 2009

  • "ThosSpence: As usual your are factually and historically inaccurate about islam that preaches hate for all" non believers "(a term elastic enough to include some that claim other strains of the cult or some reluctance to engage in the extreme dictates of the likes of the Taliban when in power).

    News from www.pantagraph.com 2009

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