microplastic

noun

mi·​cro·​plas·​tic ˌmī-krō-ˈpla-stik 

plural microplastics

1

: a very small piece of plastic especially when occurring as an environmental pollutant

—usually used in plural

… the microplastics that have made their way into the food chain and even the air we breathe.

—Los Angeles Times

… the Mariana Trench contains the highest levels of microplastics (most likely from clothing, bottles, packaging and fishing gear) yet found in the open ocean, offering irrefutable proof that plastics have penetrated even the most remote places on the planet.

—Rina Li

specifically : a piece of plastic that is five millimeters or smaller in size

Indeed, a handful of sand or cup of seawater from nearly anywhere in the world will probably be peppered with microplastics—pieces that are tinier than a small pea and often invisible.

—Jennifer Ackerman

2

: material consisting of microplastics

Most of that microplastic is coming not from broken down plastic soda bottles or shopping bags but textiles and clothing made of synthetic materials like polyester.

—Dharna Noor

compare nanoplastic

microplastic adjective

microplastic pollution

microplastic debris

Examples of microplastic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There are 258,000 bits of microplastic from the first washing of a fleece jacket. —Arthur Zaczkiewicz, WWD, 18 June 2024

Along with floral foam, airborne microplastics come from products such as bottles, packaging, clothing, and cosmetics. —Mackenzie Nichols, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 June 2024

The human testicle samples had nearly three times the amount of microplastics as the canine samples, the study found. —Cara Lynn Shultz, Peoplemag, 20 May 2024

The results indicate that breathing in microplastics is a significant source of exposure. —Mackenzie Nichols, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined at sense 1