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.

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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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Etymology

Origin of plaque

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

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

Plaque can prohibit blood flow to the heart or rupture when too much of it accumulates in an artery, and that can lead to a stroke or need for surgery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024

In 2009, a Blue Plaque was unveiled at her former home on Brunswick Square in Camberwell.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2024

With the chants echoing in the Plaque Gallery as he entered, David Ortiz felt right at home inside the Hall of Fame.

From Seattle Times • May 2, 2022

Plaque buildup in the arteries can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2021

Copied from some French maiden's bower, Plaque de Limoges!

From Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown With a Chapter on Historic Morristown by Colles, Julia Keese

Related Words

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