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# polystyrene

noun (polystyrene — uncountable)

«polystyrene» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Polystyrene is a light plastic. The common white kind is full of air bubbles and is used for packaging, cups and food boxes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#m1)
2. Hard clear polystyrene is used for things like plastic cutlery and CD cases. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons it is an insulator that keeps heat in or out and floats; in environment lessons it is hard to recycle and pollutes seas. Phrases: polystyrene cup, polystyrene packaging, polystyrene balls.

### Examples

- The TV came packed in polystyrene. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x1)
- A polystyrene cup keeps the tea hot. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x2)
- Polystyrene is very light and floats on water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x3)
- We used polystyrene balls to make model planets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x4)
- Polystyrene is hard to recycle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x5)
- Bits of polystyrene were washed up on the beach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable. In the USA the foam is often called «Styrofoam», which is a brand name. Say pol-ee-STY-reen. A good thermal insulator but bad for the environment.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «polystyrene» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/polystyrene/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«polystyrene» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/polystyrene.html) on Mova free.