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

The reassuring news is that researchers are pushing forward to determine how microplastics affect health. —Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 31 May 2024

Increasingly, microplastics are now a topic of concern for human health. —John Loeppky, Verywell Health, 30 May 2024

Researchers have located one more anatomical organ where microplastics — of all shapes and constituents — are found: human testes. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024

Abyssal microplastics appear to sink from the surface of the open ocean, and polystyrene particles increase the bioaccumulation of SSRIs in brine shrimp. —Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024

In half of the brands tested, researchers found more than 1,000 pieces of microplastic per liter. —Joseph Winters / Grist, Popular Science, 23 May 2024

Exactly how the microplastics are making their way into the testicles requires further study. —Will Stone, NPR, 22 May 2024

Stuart Isett/Fortune Across the globe, male sperm count is on the decline—a decades-long drop that has been alternately blamed on pesticides, heavy metals, obesity, and potentially microplastics. —Alena Botros, Fortune Well, 21 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined at sense 1