microbead

American  

[mahy-kroh-beed] / ˈmaɪ kroʊˌbid /

noun

1. Usually microbeads. a tiny particle of plastic, usually smaller than two millimeters, used in such personal care products as body washes, facial scrubs, and toothpastes.

   The microbeads help to exfoliate your skin.

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Etymology

Origin of microbead

First recorded in 1965–70; micro- ( def. ) + bead ( def. )

Example Sentences

In this technique, small microbead particles are delivered through a catheter into an artery that is supplying oxygen and nutrient-containing blood to a tumor.

From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2023

This divisive object, in all its plush, polystyrene microbead wonder, epitomizes the existential suffering of economy air travel.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2019

The 2016 list, featuring words like glamping and microbead, was decidedly nonpolitical.

From Slate • Feb. 3, 2017

Thursday’s signatures removed coal from the investment portfolios of the nation’s largest public pension systems - California’s - and put this state’s behemoth clout behind the national movement to stop plastic microbead pollution.

From Washington Times • Oct. 14, 2015

California would not be the first place to pass a microbead ban, but as the world’s seventh- or eighth-largest economy, its move would carry weight.

From Nature • Sep. 21, 2015