Meaning & use
nonstick
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Coated with a material that stops food from sticking during cooking.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a nonstick pan. It is not usually used after a verb, so say 'a nonstick pan', not 'the pan is nonstick'.
Patterns
- a nonstick pan
- a nonstick surface
- nonstick coating
She cooked the eggs in a nonstick pan so they would slide out easily.
This nonstick coating is scratched, so food sticks to it now.
Always use a soft cloth on nonstick cookware to avoid damage.
Common combinations
- nonstick pan
- A good nonstick pan makes cooking pancakes much easier.
- nonstick coating
- The nonstick coating on the baking sheet has started to peel.
- nonstick surface
- Wipe the nonstick surface with a little oil before you cook.
- nonstick cookware
- They bought a set of nonstick cookware for their new kitchen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Teflon
- Teflon is a trademark for a specific nonstick material, so it is narrower than nonstick, which can describe any such coating.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nonstick or nonsticking?
nonstick vs nonsticking
Nonsticking is rare and means 'not sticking', while nonstick is the standard word for treated cooking surfaces.
Practice
To make omelets easier to remove, use a ______ pan.
Choose one answer.
Nonstick describes a pan whose surface food does not stick to. Nonstarter means a hopeless plan, nonstrategic means not related to strategy, and nonsticky is not the usual word for cookware.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonstick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.