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Glite Dictionary
🧩 A tiny plastic piece 🧩 Made of tiny plastic
microplastic

microplastic

1 5.9
Containing very small plastic pieces that can pollute the environment
  • adjective
  • /ˌmaɪkroʊˈplæstɪk/
  • Specialized
: microplástico
  • The company also makes the micro-injection molds that form microplastic parts for MEMS devices.
  • microplastic particles
  • microplastic concentration
  • microplastic particles every year

First, the scope and scale of the microplastic menace.

Examples

  • Recent research has shown that microplastic pollution can harm marine life.

  • "You don't find microplastic in the ocean like we did in the lakes," Mason said.

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  • We're now studying our fish supply, both small fish and large fish who are eating the small fish to see the amount of microplastic happening in in fish.

  • Except, well, we might just swap microplastic pollution for microbot pollution.

  • Scientists are investigating the effects of microplastic contamination on human health.

  • Microplastic particles can easily enter the food chain, posing a threat to various species.

Surface Forms

microplastic positive

Morphology

microplastic = microplastic (transparent) = micro + plastic

This adjectival use is a straightforward conversion from the noun microplastic/microplastics.

Etymology

Microplastic is made of micro- 'small', like in microscope, and plastic, a material name that comes from a word meaning 'to shape'. So, microplastic describes very small plastic particles that often pollute the environment.