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

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

See Examples For:

plaque plaques

Called the Grasshopper Club, members get a plaque, patch, pin and a coin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

“My past is still before me,” Melling belts, picturing himself proudly mounted in a velvet suit and bronze plaque.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

The CT scan looks for calcium-containing plaque inside the coronary arteries.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

A plaque at the site will honor Randall and her late husband for their contribution, according to the release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

“We begin with the academic-achievement award winner. She will receive a fifty-dollar gift card to Brick City Books and a custom bronze plaque sponsored by Royal Crown Trophies. And the winner is...”

From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles

The new name plaques adorn the wall of a long corridor and are displayed next to many images of prisoners dressed in striped shirts with shaved heads.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Researchers evaluated three major features associated with Alzheimer's disease: amyloid-beta plaques, tau tangles, and neuritic plaques, which are amyloid plaques surrounded by damaged nerve cells.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Higher levels of amyloid-beta protein in blood and spinal fluid can indicate that less of the protein is being deposited in the brain as plaques.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

I recently was walking along 41st Street near the New York Public Library in Manhattan, where the sidewalks are inset with bronze plaques highlighting the power of words.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Tourists were taking photos in front of plaques and the large doors.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

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