ster⋅e⋅o⋅type
[ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer-]
noun, verb, -typed, -typ⋅ing.| 1. | a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal. |
| 2. | a plate made by this process. |
| 3. | a set form; convention. |
| 4. | Sociology. a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group: The cowboy and Indian are American stereotypes. |
| 5. | to make a stereotype of. |
| 6. | to characterize or regard as a stereotype: The actor has been stereotyped as a villain. |
| 7. | to give a fixed form to. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Stereotype
Ste"re*o*type\, n. [Stereo- + -type: cf. F. st['e]r['e]otype.]1. A plate forming an exact faximile of a page of type or of an engraving, used in printing books, etc.; specifically, a plate with type-metal face, used for printing. Note: A stereotype, or stereotypr plate, is made by setting movable type as for ordinary printing; from these a cast is taken in plaster of Paris, paper pulp, or the like, and upon this cast melted type metal is poured, which, when hardened, makes a solid page or column, from which the impression is taken as from type. 2. The art or process of making such plates, or of executing work by means of them. Stereotype block, a block, usually of wood, to which a stereotype plate is attached while being used in printing.Stereotype
Ste"re*o*type\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stereotyped; p. pr. & vb. n. Stereotyping.] [Cf. F. st['e]r['e]otyper.]1. To prepare for printing in stereotype; to make the stereotype plates of; as, to stereotype the Bible. 2. Fig.: To make firm or permanent; to fix. Powerful causes tending to stereotype and aggravate the poverty of old conditions. --Duke of Argyll (1887).Cite This Source
stereotype
A too-simple and therefore distorted image of a group, such as “Football players are stupid” or “The English are cold and unfriendly people.”
stereotype
A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group.
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stereotype
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Main Entry: 1ste·reo·type
Pronunciation: 'ster-E-&-"tIp, 'stir-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -typed;-typ·ing
1 : to repeat without variation <stereotyped behavior>
2 : to develop a mental stereotype about
Main Entry: 2stereotype
Function: noun
: something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : an often oversimplified or biasedmental picture held to characterize the typical individual of a group —ste·reo·typ·i·cal /"ster-E-&-'tip-i-k&l/ also ste·reo·typ·ic /-ik/ adjective
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stereotype
type of printing plate developed in the late 18th century and widely used in letterpress, newspaper, and other high-speed press runs. Stereotypes are made by locking the type columns, illustration plates, and advertising plates of a complete newspaper page in a form and molding a matrix, or mat, of papier-mache or similar material to it; the dried mat is used as a mold to cast the stereotype from hot metal. A stereotype plate is much stronger and more durable under the press run than would be the composed page of type. It is gradually being replaced, however, by photopolymer (photosensitive plastic) and lithographic plates.
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