calender

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A machine with heavy rollers that presses and smooths paper, cloth, or plastic into flat, shiny sheets.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say a calender or several calenders.

   Patterns

   • run something through a calender
   • a paper calender

   The paper mill replaced its old calender last year.

   She fed the damp sheets through the calender to give them a smooth finish.

   Workers wear gloves when they clean the calender because the rollers are hot.

2. 2verbtransitivetechnical

   To press and smooth paper, cloth, or plastic by passing it between heavy rollers.

   Grammar: Takes an object: calender the paper. Often used in the passive: the cloth is calendered.

   Patterns

   • calender something
   • calender something between rollers

   The factory calenders the paper to make it glossy.

   After the cloth is woven, it is calendered to flatten the surface.

   They calendered the plastic film twice to remove all the tiny bumps.

Word forms

Common combinations

paper calender

The paper calender gives the sheets a glossy surface.

calender rolls

The calender rolls must be kept perfectly clean.

calender machine

A calender machine can cost millions of dollars.

run through a calender

The fabric is run through a calender to make it smooth.

Synonyms and how they differ

press

A general word for a machine that pushes something flat; a calender is a specific type of press with rollers.

mangle

An old-fashioned word for a similar machine used mainly for squeezing water out of clothes, not for smoothing paper.

Word family

calendering noun

The process of pressing material between rollers.

calenderer noun

A person who operates a calender.

Commonly confused: calender or calendar?

Practice

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