synthetic rubber

noun

any of various synthetic elastic materials whose properties resemble natural rubber

• Syn: ↑rubber

• Hypernyms: ↑synthetic, ↑synthetic substance

• Hyponyms: ↑silicone rubber, ↑neoprene, ↑buna, ↑buna rubber, ↑butyl rubber

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noun

: any of various products (as GR-S, neoprene, butyl rubber, or nitrile rubber) that resemble natural rubber more or less closely especially in physical properties and ability to be vulcanized, that are made usually by polymerization of butadiene, isoprene, or similar unsaturated hydrocarbons or by copolymerization of such hydrocarbons with styrene, isobutylene, acrylonitrile, or other polymerizable compounds, and that have uses similar to those of natural rubber but are superior for some applications and inferior for others and are often used in combination with natural rubber : rubber 2b — compare elastomer

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any of several substances similar to natural rubber in properties and uses, produced by the polymerization of an unsaturated hydrocarbon, as butylene or isoprene, or by the copolymerization of such hydrocarbons with styrene, butadiene, or the like.

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synthetic rubber,

any rubberlike substance or elastomer developed by chemical processes chiefly from butadiene as a substitute for natural rubber, usually having special properties, such as resistance to heat, cold, age, and harmful chemicals: »

... On the basis of usefulness, synthetic rubber is nearing the limits where it can seize a big new piece of the market (Wall Street Journal).