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

Researchers are just beginning to understand how microplastics (and even smaller nanoplastics) affect our bodies and how to get rid of them. —Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 2 June 2025

There’s a lot of interest in plastic-free everything, in these days when new and frightening revelations about microplastics seem to come once a week. —Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 23 May 2025

Regardless, microplastics from dishwashers eventually end up in a wastewater treatment plant, which can remove more than 90 percent of microplastics from wastewater. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 21 May 2025

Related article Wild dolphins off US Southeast coast found with microplastics in their breath, study says The Yangtze finless porpoise looks distinct, with a short snout, dark gray color and signature lack of a dorsal fin, which sets it apart from its dolphin relatives. —Marlowe Starling, CNN Money, 14 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for microplastic

• anaplastic
• bioclastic
• fibroblastic
• hyperplastic
• hypoplastic
• inelastic
• lymphoblastic
• neoplastic
• orgiastic
• periphrastic
• predynastic
• pyroclastic