teflon

CEFRB2

/ˈtɛflɒn/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A smooth material that prevents food from sticking.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Multiple film, resin, coatings, fabric and surface protectors made with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or fluoropolymer and surfactants not made with PTFE.

Examples

  • You should have bought a Teflon-coated pan.

  • Teflon griddles are nearly unusable.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. Synonym of polytetrafluoroethylene, PTFE.

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Non-stick, slick.

  2. Able to easily shrug off or deflect criticism or blame.

More examples

In context

  • the teflon Prime Minister

  • a Teflon image

  • ...tweeting in defiance at all those horrendous scandals that were meant to destroy his campaign. He made teflon look sticky.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

This non-stick frying pan is coated with blank so that food does not stick.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Trade name, 1940s. From the first letters of tetra- (“four”) + fluoro- (“fluorine”) + -on modeled after nylon etc. From the fluorine count of polytetrafluoroethylene.