nanoplastic

noun

nano·​plas·​tic ˈna-nə-ˌpla-stik 

ˈna-nō-

plural nanoplastics

1

: an extremely small piece of plastic (such as a byproduct of an industrial process or a fragment from the degradation of a larger plastic object) especially when occurring as an environmental pollutant

—usually used in plural

Nanoplastics, the smallest plastic particles, can be conveyed in water vapour and have been found in Antarctic ice as well as in rain high atop the Andes.

—Hugo Kugiya

specifically : a piece of plastic that is 1 micrometer or smaller in size

Microplastics are pieces of plastic that measure less than five millimeters and nanoplastics measure less than 1 micrometer.

—Julia Musto

2

: material consisting of nanoplastics

"We have so much microplastic and nanoplastic in so many places on the planet—in the air and the land and the sea—that there's just no way to pull it all out," [Matt] Simon said.

—Joseph Winters

compare microplastic

Examples of nanoplastic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Massive quantities of nanoplastics are distributed in sea spray and fog. —Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022

Word History

Etymology

nano- + plastic entry 1

First Known Use

2011, in the meaning defined at sense 1