[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/putty/)

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# putty

noun (putty — usually uncountable); verb (putty, putties, puttied, puttying — rare)

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

## Everyday

1. A soft grey or white paste that is pressed into gaps, for example to hold glass in a window frame, and that goes hard as it dries. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#m1)
2. Any soft stuff that can be pressed and shaped easily, like the stretchy toy "silly putty". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#m2)
3. (idiom) "Putty in someone's hands" means a person who is easily persuaded or controlled by someone else. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#m3)
4. (verb, rare) To fill or fix something with putty. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#m4)

### In the lessons

In everyday life and DIY, putty seals windows and fills holes in wood or walls before painting. In science, putty is a good example of a material that can change shape (it is "malleable") and then set hard. In stories, "he was putty in her hands" tells the reader that a character is easily won over, often by charm. Phrases: window putty, wood putty, silly putty, putty knife, putty in someone's hands.

### Examples

- Dad pressed fresh putty around the new pane of glass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x1)
- Fill the nail holes with putty before you paint the shelf. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x2)
- My little brother stretched his silly putty across the table. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x3)
- The putty takes a day to go hard. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x4)
- The puppy looked up with big eyes, and Gran was putty in his hands. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x5)
- We used a putty knife to scrape away the old putty. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x6)
- In art club we shaped putty into tiny animals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x7)
- When he could see clearly he made out a mountain-like dragon whose heavy breast crushed the stones beneath it into putty. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/putty/#x8)

### Note

Usually uncountable: "some putty", not "a putty" (but "a putty" can mean a kind of putty). The colour "putty" means a pale greyish-brown. "Putty in your hands" is a fixed phrase, not about real putty. Do not mix up with "puddle" or "pudding".

## On Mova

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