a beginning from which an enterprise is launched; "he uses other people's ideas as a springboard for his own"; "reality provides the jumping-off point for his illusions"; "the point of departure of international comparison cannot be an institution but must be the function it carries out"
any of a class of solid or semisolid viscous substances obtained either as exudations from certain plants or prepared by polymerization of simple molecules
an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
any of various synthetic elastic materials whose properties resemble natural rubber
returned for lack of funds; "a rubber check"; "a no-good check"
an illegal enterprise (such as extortion or fraud or drug peddling or prostitution) carried on for profit
a sports implement (usually consisting of a handle and an oval frame with a tightly interlaced network of strings) used to strike a ball (or shuttlecock) in various games
characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness; "buoyant spirits"; "his quick wit and chirpy humor"; "looking bright and well and chirpy"; "a perky little widow in her 70s"
tending to float on a liquid or rise in air or gas; "buoyant balloons"; "buoyant balsawood boats"; "a floaty scarf"