pulp
pulp Lexical Profile
pulp Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A soft, wet, shapeless mass of material, especially the juicy flesh of a fruit or vegetable or fibrous wood material prepared for making paper.
"She prefers her morning orange juice without any pulp."
Popular or sensational writing that is often regarded as being of poor artistic quality, originally printed on cheap wood-pulp paper.
"Many celebrated science fiction authors began their careers writing for mid-century pulp magazines."
The soft, vascular tissue containing nerves and blood vessels that fills the central cavity of a tooth.
"A root canal procedure is necessary when decay reaches the inner dental pulp."
• adjective
Relating to or characteristic of cheap, sensational popular fiction originally printed on rough wood-pulp paper.
"The director's early films paid homage to classic pulp detective stories from the 1940s."
• verb
To crush, grind, or mash into a soft, wet, shapeless mass.
"The recycling plant pulps tons of discarded cardboard and office paper every day."
To destroy unsold books or printed documents by reducing them to paper pulp for recycling.
"The publisher had to pulp thousands of copies after discovering a major printing error."
• Rhymes for pulp
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French pulpe or directly from Latin pulpa, meaning 'flesh, pith, or the soft part of a fruit'. The sense referring to cheap, sensational popular literature emerged in the early 20th century from the inexpensive wood-pulp paper on which such magazines were printed.