plaque

American  

[plak] / plæk /

noun

• plaques
  plural

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• plaques
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of plaque

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

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Explanation

A plaque is a sign that memorializes a person or event, such as the plaque on a building noting the person it's named after or the year it was built. Plaque comes from the French word for "plate," meaning not a dinner plate, but a little brass or tin plate that can be mounted on a wall. If you take a tour of Civil War battlefields, you'll find that historical societies often use plaques to commemorate soldiers or particular events. Plaque is also a hard buildup in the body, like the plaque on your teeth that the dentist likes to scrape off.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plaque plaques

The purple plaque scheme, external celebrates women who have made important contributions to their communities in Wales or shown exceptional courage.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

For Harries, the plaque will ensure her story survives long after those who remember her are gone.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Identifying and potentially strengthening the biological mechanisms responsible for plaque removal could lead to better therapies.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

A plaque in the center of the University of South Carolina campus commemorates the pope’s 1987 visit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Gosh. I’d forgotten about this,” Mom says, her eyes scanning the words on the plaque.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

To investigate how Alzheimer's-related plaques develop, Yarahmadian created a mathematical framework that simulates the chemical reactions involved when metals such as copper and zinc interact with amyloid-beta.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

It was not immediately clear whether new plaques would be put up.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

Discreet plaques, and signs with QR codes posted in different places, tell the story of what happened on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Instead, the city allows memorial plaques on public buildings.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

She drives over to the campus gym, and I follow her inside the building and down a hallway lined with plaques that list members of the Hempstead College Athletics Hall of Fame.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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Related Words

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

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