Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

papier-mâché

/ˌpeɪ.pɚ.məˈʃeɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.03 in modern English

Syllables: pa-pier--mache
IPA: /ˌpeɪ.pɚ.məˈʃeɪ/

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A composite material created by pulping paper or layering paper strips with an adhesive such as glue, starch or paste, which dries to form a durable, lightweight and moldable substance.

Uncountable

adj

Of a material of such type or admixture.

verb

To apply papier-mâché to.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"She sat completely alone at the very back of the sea-themed restaurant, amid papier-mâché starfish and plastic shrimp."
"I have had it rebuilt, papier-mâchéd inside and otherwise repaired through the years."
"When the bodies of the fish were finished, fins were cut from cardboard to the desired shapes, pinned with straight pins to the fish, and papier-mâchéd in place."
"In a giddy moment they had also papier-mâchéd the legs of the card table."
"I instead constructed ‘shelves’ inside Roy’s stomach, made from mesh, which I then also papier mâchéd."
"I papier-mâchéed the entire volcano, constructed the tiny town out of toothpicks, and doublechecked the calculations to make sure it’s all to scale."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French papier mâché (literally “chewed-up paper”). See French papier and mâcher, respectively related to the English words paper and masticate.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌpeɪ.pɚ.məˈʃeɪ/
British English: /ˌpap.ɪ.eɪˈmaʃ.eɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

papier-maché (alternative) papier-mache (alternative) papier mache (alternative) paper mâché (alternative) paper maché (alternative) paper mache (alternative) paper machee (alternative) papier-mâchés (present, singular) papier-mâchéing (participle, present) papier-mâchéd (participle, past) papier-mâchéd (past) papier-mâchéed (participle, past)

Frequently Paired Words

collage decoupage

Rhymes With

a. j j. k k. 'kay café u.k. u.s.a. josé beyoncé renée

Questions

How do you pronounce papier-mâché?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpeɪ.pɚ.məˈʃeɪ/.
What does papier-mâché mean?: A composite material created by pulping paper or layering paper strips with an adhesive such as glue, starch or paste, which dries to form a durable, lightweight and moldable substance.
Where does papier-mâché come from?: Unadapted borrowing from French papier mâché (literally “chewed-up paper”). See French papier and mâcher, respectively related to the English words paper and masticate.

How to pronounce papier-mâché

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