Bakelite

[ bey-kuh-lahyt, beyk-lahyt ]

Trademark.

1. a brand name for any of a series of thermosetting plastics prepared by heating phenol or cresol with formaldehyde and ammonia under pressure: used for radio cabinets, telephone receivers, electric insulators, and molded plastic ware.

Bakelite

/ ˈbeɪkəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. any one of a class of thermosetting resins used as electric insulators and for making plastic ware, telephone receivers, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bakelite¹

C20: named after L. H. Baekeland (1863–1944), Belgian-born US inventor; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

"I looked on YouTube for any tutorials on how to get the film out of it," said Sarah, adding the camera's body is made of card and mounted on a Bakelite frame.

From BBC

“Trump fraudulently convinced our clients to spend their hard-earned savings to go into business selling the functional equivalent of a Bakelite rotary dial phone, when the future was in smartphones and tablets,” she said.

From Seattle Times

Commercial production of Bakelite, the inaugural synthetic plastic, began in both Germany and the United States in 1910.

From Washington Post

She bought a Bakelite camera — “it was like a toy,” she said — with her own money and learned to develop her own film.

From New York Times

Business leaders quickly realized that his creation, known as Bakelite, could be used to make a wide range of products.

From Salon