polystyrene

UK/pɒliˈstaɪriːn/US/pɒliˈstaɪriːn/

nounB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,147 of 15,258leans written

Polystyrene is a light white foam used for packing and cups. A polystyrene box.

It is almost entirely air, which is what makes it both a good insulator and impossible to compact. Polystyrene lasts for centuries and is banned for food use in several countries.

Definitions of polystyrene

1nounpolystyreneA light white foam used for packing and cups.B2+
“The polystyrene in one parcel filled half a bin.”

polystyrene is a material.

Where it comes from

From poly- + styrene.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Materials & Substances

Practise this word

polystyrene in the wild

Under ASTM standards, polystyrene is regarded as not biodegradable.
Polystyrene
Disposable coffee cups may be made out of paper or polystyrene foam (often mistakenly called Styrofoam).
Coffee cup
Sodium polystyrene sulfonate was approved for medical use in the United States in 1958.
Polystyrene sulfonate
A polystyrene sulfonate was developed in the 2000s to treat Clostridioides difficile associated diarrhea under the name Tolevamer, but it was never marketed.
Polystyrene sulfonate
In the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a global movement towards the phase-out of polystyrene as a single use plastic (SUP).
Phase-out of polystyrene foam

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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