rubber band

Thân thiện

A child stretches a rubber band between two fingers.

Definition

Noun: A narrow, circular loop made of elastic rubber material, designed to stretch and contract. Its primary function is to bind or hold multiple items together temporarily.

Usage

A "rubber band" is used to fasten objects by being stretched around them. Its elasticity provides a secure but removable hold. - She used a rubber band to keep her receipts organized. - The mail carrier put a thick rubber band around the bundle of letters.

Advanced Usage

• "to have a mind like a rubber band": An informal idiom describing someone who is very flexible in their thinking or can easily shift between ideas. (Note: This idiom uses the concept of a rubber band's stretchiness as a metaphor for mental flexibility, not the physical object itself).
  • As a creative director, he needs to have a mind like a rubber band.

Variants and Related Words

• Elastic band: A synonym, more commonly used in British English.
  • Please pass me an elastic band for these papers.
• Rubber band ball: A sphere created by winding many rubber bands around a core.
  • He spent years building a giant rubber band ball.

Synonyms

• Elastic: A more general term for a stretchable material or band.
• Binder: A broader term for any device used to hold things together.

Related Phrases

• To snap like a rubber band: To break suddenly under tension, often used metaphorically.
  • After months of stress, his patience finally snapped like a rubber band.
• Rubber-band logic: Informal term for reasoning that is circular or returns to its starting point.
  • His argument was based on rubber-band logic and proved nothing.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a narrow band of elastic rubber used to hold things (such as papers) together

Từ đồng nghĩa

• elastic band
• elastic