Lucite

Meanings

1. 1noununcountabletrademark

   A brand name for a clear, hard, glass-like plastic made of acrylic, used for furniture, jewelry, displays, and decoration.

   Grammar: Treated as a material noun with a capital L: a table made of Lucite.

   Patterns

   • made of Lucite
   • a Lucite something

   The coffee table is made of clear Lucite and looks almost invisible.

   She wore Lucite bracelets that caught the light.

   The museum protected the manuscript under a Lucite cover.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   Clear acrylic plastic of any brand, named loosely after the trademark.

   Grammar: Often written with a lowercase l when used as a general word.

   Patterns

   • a lucite chair

   The shop sells lucite chairs in several colors.

   He bought a lucite picture frame for the desk.

   Designers loved lucite furniture in the 1970s.

Common combinations

Lucite table

They put a vase of flowers on the Lucite table.

Lucite handbag

She carried a retro Lucite handbag to the party.

Lucite heels

The bride wore Lucite heels with her dress.

Lucite display case

The jeweler kept the rings in a Lucite display case.

Lucite cube

The photograph sat in a Lucite cube on the shelf.

Synonyms and how they differ

acrylic

Acrylic is the general name for the plastic, while Lucite is one particular brand of it.

Plexiglas

Plexiglas is a competing brand of the same kind of clear plastic and is also often used as a generic word.

Perspex

Perspex is the British brand name for acrylic sheet and is the usual word in the UK.

plastic

Plastic is a broad term for many materials, whereas Lucite names one clear, rigid type.

Word family

acrylic noun

the general type of plastic Lucite belongs to

Plexiglas noun

another brand of acrylic sheet

Perspex noun

the British brand of acrylic sheet

polymethyl methacrylate noun

the chemical name for acrylic plastic, often shortened to PMMA

Commonly confused: Lucite or lucid?

Practice

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