/ peɪst; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ sing. ] a soft wet mixture, usually made of a powder and a liquid :
She mixed the flour and water to a smooth paste.
2.
[ C ] (especially in compounds) a smooth mixture of crushed meat, fish, etc. that is spread on bread or used in cooking
3.
[ U ] a type of glue that is used for sticking paper to things :
wallpaper paste
4.
[ U ] a substance like glass, that is used for making artificial jewels , for example diamonds
■ verb
1.
[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to stick sth to sth else using glue or paste :
He pasted the pictures into his scrapbook.
Paste the two pieces together.
Paste down the edges.
2.
[ vn ] to make sth by sticking pieces of paper together :
The children were busy cutting and pasting paper hats.
3.
( computing ) to copy or move text into a document from another place or another document :
[ vn ]
This function allows you to cut and paste text.
[ v ]
It's quicker to cut and paste than to retype.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French , from late Latin pasta medicinal preparation in the shape of a small square, probably from Greek pastē , (plural) pasta barley porridge, from pastos sprinkled.