plaque

plaque — noun

1. a thin flat sign fixed to a wall, statue, or similar surface to identify, explai

1.nounB2
Definition

a thin flat sign fixed to a wall, statue, or similar surface to identify, explain, or honor someone or something

Example

A bronze plaque beside the gate lists the names of lost sailors.

common collocation: bronze plaque

The school placed a plaque near the library to honor Ms Chen.

plaque + near/on + place

Common collocations
  • bronze plaque
  • memorial plaque
  • plaque on the wall
  • put up a plaque
  • read the plaque
Synonyms
  • sign

    the broad everyday word; not always fixed in place or made to honor someone

  • tablet

    more formal; often suggests stone or metal with writing on it

  • marker

    often official or outdoors, especially for places and events

Usage Note

Often used for something that identifies or honors a person, place, or event. Distinguish from sense 2, which is specifically about a building where a notable person once lived.

2. a sign on a building that tells people a well-known person once lived there

2.nounC1
Definition

a sign on a building that tells people a well-known person once lived there

Example

A blue plaque outside the flat shows that a famous poet lived there.

common collocation: blue plaque

Tourists photographed the plaque on the house where Rosa Parks once stayed.

Common collocations
  • blue plaque
  • plaque outside the house
  • historic home plaque
  • plaque on the building
Synonyms
  • blue plaque

    especially British; often part of an official scheme

  • historic marker

    common in American English; broader and not limited to former homes

  • commemorative plaque

    broader term that may honor a person or event without meaning a former residence

Usage Note

Usually fixed outside a house or apartment building and names the former resident. Distinguish from sense 1, which can mark many kinds of people, places, or events.

3. a soft layer of bacteria that collects on teeth

3.nounB2
Definition

a soft layer of bacteria that collects on teeth

Example

If Maya skips brushing, plaque builds up along her back teeth.

plaque builds up

The dentist showed Leo the plaque near his gums in a mirror.

common context: plaque near the gums

Common collocations
  • dental plaque
  • plaque buildup
  • remove plaque
  • brush away plaque
  • plaque on teeth
Synonyms
  • buildup

    informal; focuses on something collecting over time

  • film

    everyday word for a thin layer on a surface

  • tartar

    not exactly the same; tartar is hardened plaque

Usage Note

Usually uncountable in everyday use: people talk about brushing plaque off their teeth or plaque building up over time.

Common Mistakes

The dentist found many plaques on my tooth.
The dentist found a lot of plaque on my teeth.
dental plaque is usually treated as an uncountable substance.

4. an abnormal raised patch on skin or body tissue, or a build-up inside the body t

4.nounC1
Definition

an abnormal raised patch on skin or body tissue, or a build-up inside the body that forms such a patch

Example

The scan found plaque in one of Mr Lin's neck arteries.

plaque in + body part

After the scan, doctors worried because plaque had narrowed the vessel near Eva's heart.

plaque + narrow a blood vessel

Common collocations
  • plaque in the artery
  • fatty plaque
  • brain plaque
  • skin plaque
Synonyms
  • lesion

    formal medical word for an abnormal area of tissue

  • deposit

    focuses more on material collecting than on the raised area itself

  • patch

    plain word for an affected area on skin or tissue

Usage Note

Common in medical contexts. Often used with in or on plus a body part, and unlike sense 3 it is not limited to teeth.

Common Mistakes

The scan found plaques on his teeth.
The scan found plaque in his artery.
this medical sense is used for body tissue or blood vessels; use sense 3 for teeth.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun/1, 'plaque' suggests a small flat sign fixed in place, often to identify or honor someone or something. 'Sign' is much broader: a shop sign, a road sign, or a warning sign may all be called signs, but they are not usually plaques. 'Marker' often sounds more official or public, especially for historic places, graves, or important locations outdoors. 'Tablet' is more formal and often brings to mind stone or metal with writing cut into it. So a museum may place a plaque under a statue, a city may install a historical marker by an old bridge, and an ancient temple may have a stone tablet at the gate.

plaque ↗sign ↗marker ↗tablet ↗

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

English borrowed 'plaque' from French, where it meant a flat plate, sheet, or patch. That basic idea of a flat piece explains both the everyday sense of a sign fixed to a wall and the later medical senses for patches or deposits in the body.