noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcinated, it forms plaster of Paris. countable, uncountable

   "Besides being abundant, gypsum is easily refined into a powder for plaster or formed into sheets of wallboard."

2. 2
   a common white or colorless mineral (hydrated calcium sulphate) used to make cements and plasters (especially plaster of Paris) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

alabasterasphaltmineralplaster-stone

Example

More examples

"A century ago, gypsum quarries sat here."

Etymology

From Latin gypsum, from Ancient Greek γύψος (gúpsos). Doublet of gesso.

Related phrases

gypsum boardgypsum cavegypsum plastercalcium sulphateplaster of paris

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.