Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

placoid

American  
[plak-oid] / ˈplæk ɔɪd /

adjective

  1. platelike, as the scales or dermal investments of sharks.


placoid British  
/ ˈplækɔɪd /

adjective

  1. platelike or flattened

  2. (of the scales of sharks and other elasmobranchs) toothlike; composed of dentine with an enamel tip and basal pulp cavity

"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

Etymology

Origin of placoid

1835–45; < Greek plak- (stem of pláx ) something flat, tablet + -oid

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.

Researchers in this study also revisited an analysis of fossilized placoid scales, or tiny tooth-like scales that cover sharks, from the megalodon.

From Salon • Mar. 10, 2025

Shark teeth likely evolved from the jagged scales that cover their skin, called placoid scales.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

It is the same with the cutaneous teeth or placoid scales of the Selachii.

From The Evolution of Man — Volume 2 by Haeckel, Ernst Heinrich Philipp August

A singular species, rare, but easily recognized by its peculiar, placoid scales, large and firmly embedded in the peridial wall.

From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by MacBride, Thomas H. (Thomas Huston)

An important feature is the complete absence of all trace of the calcified placoid plates which are so characteristic of the Elasmobranchii.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "placoid" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com