polyvinyl chloride

noun

|Updated on: 5 Jun 2018

Definition of polyvinyl chloride

: a polymer of vinyl chloride used especially for electrical insulation, films, and pipes —abbreviation PVC

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Recent Examples of polyvinyl chloride from the Web

Westlake is now the second-largest U.S. producer of polyvinyl chloride, used to make pipes and other building materials.

— katherine blunt, Houston Chronicle, "Westlake Chemical debuts on Fortune 500 list," 21 May 2018
One display, for example, shows a 2,000-year-old terra-cotta drainpipe closely resembling a contemporary one made of polyvinyl chloride.

— edward rothstein, WSJ, "An Awkward Trek Through Time at the Penn Museum," 14 May 2018
Artificial trees are made from materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and metal and are often imported from China.

— the editors of organic life, Good Housekeeping, "Here's Why Real Christmas Trees Are Better For The Environment," 29 Nov. 2017
The blanket will be 14 to 18 feet tall and about 250 feet long, made of a composite polyvinyl chloride material, and supported by steel I-beams dug into the ground.

— phil diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Work starts on Coaster station improvements," 5 May 2018
Some sections of polyvinyl chloride pipe melted, leeching carcinogens into the system.

— lizzie johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Another gut punch for Santa Rosa: Fire destroys neighborhood water system," 15 Apr. 2018
The lacing, once fragile cotton, like shoelaces, is now made of an extruded polyvinyl chloride, which is more durable.

— Popular Mechanics, "The Evolution of the Football," 1 Feb. 2018
The branches are usually made from green plastic, often polyvinyl chloride, the same stuff used for PVC piping in houses.

— zlati meyer, USA TODAY, "Fake Christmas trees more popular with real people this year," 11 Dec. 2017
The researchers offered up polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and six other types of plastic.

— ben guarino, Washington Post, "Corals eat plastic because we’ve made it tasty, study suggests," 30 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'polyvinyl chloride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.