Plaque Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Cultural

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms plaque American [plak] / plæk /

noun

1. a thin, flat plate or tablet of metal, porcelain, etc., intended for ornament, as on a wall, or set in a piece of furniture.

2. an inscribed commemorative tablet, usually of metal placed on a building, monument, or the like.

3. a platelike brooch or ornament, especially one worn as the badge of an honorary order.

4. Anatomy, Pathology. a flat, often raised, patch on the skin or other organ, as on the inner lining of arterial walls in atherosclerosis.

5. Dentistry. a soft, sticky, whitish matlike film attached to tooth surfaces, formed largely by the growth of bacteria that colonize the teeth.

6. Bacteriology. a cleared region in a bacterial culture, resulting from lysis of bacteria by bacteriophages.

plaque British / plæk, plɑːk /

noun

1. an ornamental or commemorative inscribed tablet or plate of porcelain, wood, etc

2. a small flat brooch or badge, as of a club, etc

3. pathol any small abnormal patch on or within the body, such as the typical lesion of psoriasis

4. short for dental plaque

5. bacteriol a clear area within a bacterial or tissue culture caused by localized destruction of the cells by a bacteriophage or other virus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 plaque Scientific / plăk /

1. A small disk-shaped formation or growth; a patch.

2. A film of mucus and bacteria on the surface of the teeth.

3. A deposit of material in a bodily tissue or organ, especially one of the fatty deposits that collect on the inner lining of an artery wall in atherosclerosis or one of the amyloid deposits that accumulate in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

plaque Cultural

1. A thin film composed of bacteria, mucus, and food particles that forms on the surfaces of teeth. Plaque contributes to tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque also refers to a combination of cholesterol and lipids that can accumulate on the inside of arteries, causing atherosclerosis.

Etymology

Origin of plaque

1840–50; < French, noun derivative of plaquer to plate < Middle Dutch placken to patch; placket

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Through a PET scan and spinal tap, I saw the sticky, abnormal plaques associated with the disease building up in my brain.

From The Wall Street Journal

The plaque was later found in a nearby square, prosecutors said, adding the vandals had not entered the school building.

From Barron's

These changes lead to symptoms such as memory loss and difficulty navigating familiar environments, but the precise ways these plaques interfere with normal brain activity are still unclear.

From Science Daily

She cleans their teeth with an electric toothbrush, a dental tool for plaque and a breath-freshener spray.

From The Wall Street Journal

The researchers found that IC7Fc helped limit the buildup of fatty plaques inside blood vessels while also easing inflammation.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• badge
• decoration
• medal
• nameplate
• plate
• slab

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.