stucco

/ˈstʌkoʊ/

/ˈstʌkəʊ/

Other forms: stuccoed; stuccoes; stuccoing; stuccos

Stucco is a material that's used to coat ceilings, walls, and the exterior of buildings. If you travel to the southwestern United States, you'll see many homes with stucco exteriors and terra-cotta roof tiles.

Stucco is a type of plaster, a substance that goes on as a wet paste and dries hard. In fact, in Italian, stucco means "plaster," from a Germanic source it shares with the Old High German stukki, or "crust." Stucco is mainly decorative, often covering metal or cinderblock, but it's also a weather-resistant coating. While regular plaster is usually smooth and white, stucco is most often textured.

Definitions of stucco

1. noun

   a plaster now made mostly from Portland cement and sand and lime; applied while soft to cover exterior walls or surfaces
   types:

   render

   a substance similar to stucco but exclusively applied to masonry walls

   type of:

   plaster

   a mixture of lime or gypsum with sand and water; hardens into a smooth solid; used to cover walls and ceilings
2. verb

   decorate with stucco work
   “stuccoed ceilings”

   type of:

   adorn, beautify, decorate, embellish, grace, ornament

   make more attractive by adding ornament, color, etc.
3. verb

   coat with stucco
   “stucco the ceiling”

   type of:

   coat, surface

   put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface