Meaning & use
molding clay
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Meaning
noununcountable
A soft, pliable material, often oil-based or polymer-based, used for modeling and shaping objects by hand.
Grammar: Uncountable; no plural form. Use 'some molding clay' or 'a piece of molding clay'.
Patterns
- molding clay for something
- make something with molding clay
- a piece of molding clay
The children used molding clay to make small animals.
She bought a pack of molding clay to create a model for her art project.
Molding clay is easy to shape but hardens when left out.
Common combinations
- a lump of molding clay
- He rolled a lump of molding clay into a ball.
- modeling clay
- Modeling clay is another common term for the same material.
- polymer clay
- Polymer clay is a type of molding clay that hardens when baked.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modeling clay
- Very similar; 'modeling clay' is the more common term in American English, while 'molding clay' is also used.
- playdough
- A soft, pliable dough for children to play with, but it is not usually called molding clay and dries out easily.
Word family
Commonly confused: molding clay or molding?
molding clay vs molding
'Molding' can also mean a decorative strip of material used in architecture or carpentry. 'Molding clay' is the material for modeling, not the trim.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'molding clay' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Molding clay is a soft material for shaping by hand, so 'shaped the molding clay into a small figure' is correct. Option A confuses it with plumbing putty, C is nonsensical, and D confuses it with paint or plaster.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “molding clay”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.