Search Result for "elasticity": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed;
- Example: "the waistband had lost its snap"
[syn: elasticity, snap]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Elasticity \E`las*tic"i*ty\ ([=e]`l[a^]s*t[i^]s"[i^]*t[y^]), n. [Cf. F. ['e]lasticit['e].] 1. The quality of being elastic; the inherent property in bodies by which they recover their former figure or dimensions, after the removal of external pressure or altering force; springiness; resilience; tendency to rebound; as, the elasticity of caoutchouc; the elasticity of the air. [1913 Webster] 2. Power of resistance to, or recovery from, depression or overwork; -- usually referred to as resilience[3]. [1913 Webster] Coefficient of elasticity, the quotient of a stress (of a given kind), by the strain (of a given kind) which it produces; -- called also coefficient of resistance. Surface of elasticity (Geom.), the pedal surface of an ellipsoid (see Pedal); a surface used in explaining the phenomena of double refraction and their relation to the elastic force of the luminous ether in crystalline media. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

elasticity n 1: the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed; "the waistband had lost its snap" [syn: elasticity, snap] [ant: inelasticity]