What does elasticity mean?
Elasticity is the quality that allows something stretched, squeezed, or otherwise deformed to return to its original shape once the force is released. It is most familiar as a physical property — rubber bands, springs, and healthy skin all owe their usefulness or youthful look to it — but the word extends into economics, where it measures how strongly demand or supply reacts when prices or incomes shift. Figuratively, elasticity can describe the adaptability of a plan, a mind, or an organization. The word carries largely positive connotations: elastic things are seen as resilient and forgiving rather than brittle. Its antonyms include rigidity and stiffness. Whether describing a trampoline, a market, or a flexible schedule, elasticity captures the idea of yielding under pressure and recovering afterward — a concept valuable in physics, medicine, finance, and everyday description alike.
nounThe ability of a material or object to return to its original shape and size after being stretched, compressed, or deformed. In economics, the degree to which one quantity (such as demand or supply) responds to changes in another, such as price or income.
- The property of a material or object that lets it regain its original shape and size after being stretched or compressed.
- In economics, the responsiveness of one variable (such as quantity demanded) to changes in another (such as price).
- Figuratively, adaptability or flexibility of character, plans, or systems.
"The rubber band's elasticity allows it to snap back into shape no matter how far it is stretched."
"As skin ages, it loses some of its natural elasticity."
"Because petrol has few immediate substitutes, its demand shows low price elasticity."
The plural is rare outside technical economics writing, where it refers to multiple distinct elasticity coefficients for different goods or variables.
"The study compared the price elasticities of several consumer staples."
Your arteries stay alive thanks to elasticity — without it, every heartbeat would be a shockwave instead of a smooth pulse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of elasticity
The noun elasticity derives from the adjective elastic, which entered English in the mid-17th century from French élastique. The French term traces back through Neo-Latin elasticus to the Greek elastikos, meaning 'propulsive' or 'reflective,' formed on elaunein, 'to drive, beat out, or propel.' The noun form developed alongside the adjective as scientific writing about material properties expanded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Related word forms
How elasticity is actually used
Register is neutral to formal; 'elasticity' appears frequently in scientific, medical, and economic writing. The figurative sense describing adaptability is less common but well established. In economics, writers usually specify which kind of elasticity is meant (e.g., price elasticity, income elasticity).
Easily confused with elasticity
Elasticity is the ability to return to an original shape after deformation, whereas plasticity is the tendency to remain permanently deformed after a force is removed.
Resilience broadly describes the capacity to recover from difficulty in general, while elasticity specifically refers to physical spring-back after deformation or, in economics, responsiveness to price change.