paste

1 of 3

noun

ˈpāst 

1

a

: a dough that contains a considerable proportion of fat and is used for pastry crust or fancy rolls

b

: a confection made by evaporating fruit with sugar or by flavoring a gelatin, starch, or gum arabic preparation

c

: a smooth food product made by evaporation or grinding

tomato paste

almond paste

d

: a shaped dough (such as spaghetti or ravioli) prepared from semolina, farina, or wheat flour

2

: a soft plastic mixture or composition: such as

a

: a preparation usually of flour or starch and water used as an adhesive or a vehicle for mordant or color

b

: clay or a clay mixture used in making pottery or porcelain

3

: a brilliant glass of high lead content used for the manufacture of artificial gems

paste

2 of 3

verb (1)

pasted; pasting; pastes

transitive verb

1

: to cause to adhere by or as if by paste : stick

pasted the photos into the scrapbook

2

: to cover with something pasted on

The entire wall was pasted with posters.

3

: to put (digital data, such as text or an image) that has been copied or cut from one document or app into another part of the document or into another document or app

paste the image into an email or text

Don't copy and paste recipes out of an existing … blog or website. If you've adjusted an existing recipe, making it your own with significant modifications, be sure to give credit to the source of the original recipe.

—The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington)

paste

3 of 3

verb (2)

pasted; pasting; pastes

transitive verb

1

: to strike hard at

2

: to beat or defeat soundly

pasted their opponents 42–0

Did you know?

We're not talking about adhesives here: the paste of interest here came to be as an alteration of the word baste, which means "to beat severely or soundly." (This baste is unrelated to the two distinct baste homographs that mean "to sew with long stitches" and "to moisten while cooking.") The exact origin of baste is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Old Norse word beysta, meaning "to bruise, thrash, or flog." Baste was first seen in the 16th century, but paste didn't turn up in print until the mid-19th century, and it only recently acquired its "defeat" sense. Baste is now less popular than paste, though its relative lambaste ("to beat" or "to censure") is prevalent.

Synonyms

Verb (2)

• annihilate
• blow away
• bomb
• bury
• clobber
• cream
• drub
• dust
• flatten
• rout
• shellac
• skin
• skunk
• smoke [slang]
• smother
• snow under
• thrash
• trim
• tromp
• trounce
• wallop
• wax [slang]
• whip
• whomp
• whop
• whap
• whup

Examples of paste in a Sentence

Noun

Stir the flour and water to a paste.

The children used paste and construction paper to make Mother's Day cards.

a cake with an almond paste filling

Stir the ingredients to form a paste.

Verb (2)

with the economy having gone south, it was hardly surprising that the incumbent party got pasted in the general election

pasted the soccer ball halfway across the field

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In what world would somebody accidentally eat the seeds, which need to be crushed into an edible paste with a blender? —Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025

Mash with your hands to a smooth paste, then add to the bowl with the onion mixture. —Christopher Kimball, Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2025

Verb

Henrique then copied and pasted his Notepad notes into Copilot. —Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2025

Worse, many people have fallen into the habit of copying and pasting goals from year to year, turning the entire exercise into a box-checking ritual rather than a driver of real performance. —Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin pasta dough, paste

Verb (2)

alteration of baste

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

circa 1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing paste

• choux paste
• copy and paste
• cut-and-paste
• hard-paste porcelain
• library paste
• miso paste
• pre-paste
• scissors-and-paste
• soft-paste porcelain

Rhymes for paste

• based
• baste
• braced
• cased
• chased
• chaste
• faced
• graced
• haste
• laced
• mayst
• paced

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Kids Definition

paste

1 of 3 noun

ˈpāst 

1

a

: a dough rich in fat used for pastry

b

: a candy made by evaporating fruit with sugar or by flavoring a gelatin, starch, or gum arabic preparation

c

: a smooth food product made by evaporation or grinding

almond paste

2

: a preparation of flour or starch and water used for sticking things together

3

: a soft plastic substance or mixture

4

: a very brilliant glass used for artificial gems

paste

2 of 3 verb

pasted; pasting

1

: to stick on or together by paste

2

: to cover with something pasted on

3

: to put (something cut or copied from a computer document) into another part of the document or into another document

paste

3 of 3 verb

pasted; pasting

: to hit hard

Etymology

Noun

Middle English paste "pastry dough," from early French paste (same meaning), from Latin pasta "paste, dough"

Verb

an altered form of earlier baste "to hit, beat"

Medical Definition

paste

noun

ˈpāst 

: a soft plastic mixture or composition

especially : an external medicament that has a stiffer consistency than an ointment and is less greasy because of its higher percentage of powdered ingredients