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 name on the plaque outside the door is now Harding’s, but the decor — particularly the heavy Hollywood Bowl throw blanket that keeps sliding off the cushions behind him — is not.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

New research suggests that pure, unsweetened cranberry juice can slow the growth of dental plaque and reduce the production of acids that contribute to tooth decay.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

Wu wanted to determine whether these same compounds might also affect bacteria found in dental plaque.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

Ian Fleming's flat at 22B Ebury Street in Belgravia is now adorned with a blue plaque commemorating his time there.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

The plaque below the turkey states a very important fact: Wild male turkeys leave the moms behind to care for the young while they go on with their lives.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

Two blue plaques were unveiled that year in Port Talbot and Pontrhydyfen to commemorate Burton.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Along the way, you can learn about the flora and fauna via informational plaques.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

But in the renovated bathrooms the famous plaques above the urinals — including the one declaring “Charles Bukowski pissed here” — will remain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

One of the most surprising findings was that sleep problems did not continue worsening as amyloid plaques accumulated.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

I know Great-Grampy JonJon was on a Negro Southern League team because of all the trophies and plaques in our attic shrine.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

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Related Words

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

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