plaque

[plak]

noun

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

/ 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

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

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaque¹

1840–50; < French, noun derivative of plaquer to plate < Middle Dutch placken to patch; placket

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaque¹

C19: from French, from plaquier to plate, from Middle Dutch placken to beat (metal) into a thin plate

Example Sentences

I joke that perhaps it should have a plaque with her name on outside and Tidball laughs as she says it might be a part of her legacy.

From BBC

A blue plaque dedicated to a gay couple who "defied convention" during the 1950s and 60s has been unveiled at the site of the shop they ran.

From BBC

Celestinia Bishop, the owner, said the thefts were discovered Thursday but she said she believes the thieves broke into the cemetery the night before and took the headstones for the bronze and copper plaques.

From Los Angeles Times

Wanting to protect the teenager's memory, Reynolds arranged for some of the pitch where his ashes were left to be preserved within a glass plaque, before presenting it to Aiden's family in an "emotional" moment.

From BBC

A white lei hung around her neck as she attempted to balance her champion’s plaque awkwardly in one hand.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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