nanoplastic
noun
nano·plas·tic
ˈna-nə-ˌpla-stik 
ˈna-nō-
plural nanoplastics
1
: an extremely small piece of plastic (such as a byproduct of an industrial process or a fragment from the degradation of a larger plastic object) especially when occurring as an environmental pollutant
—usually used in plural
Nanoplastics, the smallest plastic particles, can be conveyed in water vapour and have been found in Antarctic ice as well as in rain high atop the Andes.—
Hugo Kugiya
Hugo Kugiya
specifically
: a piece of plastic that is 1 micrometer or smaller in size
Microplastics are pieces of plastic that measure less than five millimeters and nanoplastics measure less than 1 micrometer. —Julia Musto
Julia Musto 2
: material consisting of nanoplastics
"We have so much microplastic and nanoplastic in so many places on the planet—in the air and the land and the sea—that there's just no way to pull it all out," [Matt] Simon said.—Joseph Winters
Joseph Winterscompare microplastic
Examples of nanoplastic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Massive quantities of nanoplastics are distributed in sea spray and fog.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022
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Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Nanoplastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nanoplastic. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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