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.

---

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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

Or July 29, 2018, the date Vladimir Guerrero became the first player to wear an Angels cap on a Hall of Fame plaque.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Smaller LDL particles can more easily enter artery walls and contribute to plaque buildup, Damani explained.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

A big challenge is dental plaque, a protective structure known as a biofilm that helps bacteria adhere to teeth and makes them more resistant to removal by saliva, mouth rinses and some antimicrobial agents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Returning this time on the 60th anniversary of the tragedy, it was marked with a special memorial and the plaque to remember those who died, unveiled by Dolgellau Town Council.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“But it says Red Cloud was the leader,” Jimmy said, pointing to the plaque.

From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III

Even some of the bathrooms bear plaques from donors eager to get their name somewhere in the building.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Octogenarians who had developed amyloid plaques but remained free of dementia showed the early microglial response.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Instead of focusing only on removing amyloid plaques, future treatments might aim to preserve beneficial early microglial activity or influence the transition between different microglial states.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

On Sunday, they’ll finally get their Hall of Fame plaques and join the special fraternity that has already welcomed them warmly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Civil War from the plaques on park statues: possible, but tricky.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

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