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

The researchers then measured the concentrations of microplastics present in each air sample, as well as the size of the microplastics. —Anuradha Varanasi, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025

There is a threat to biodiversity and the habitats of marine life, and a human health impact with the rise of microplastics in our food and water supply. —Lauren Giella, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025

Aster understands that our greater political atmosphere invades the far reaches of our psyche, often undetected, like the ingestion of so many microplastics. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 17 July 2025

Up to 89 percent of microplastics found in water can be captured by okra and fenugreek. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 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