nanoplasticn.
/ˈnanə(ʊ)ˌplastɪk/, U.S. /ˈnænoʊˌplæstɪk/ 1. A hypothetical material produced by nanotechnology, capable of changing its shape and other properties as required. rare.
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1994 Pop. Sci. Apr. 48 To clean such plates, you'd slide them through a porous screen of ‘nanoplastic’ permeated with detergent and—voila!—the dishes would instantly be clean.
1998 Sunday Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 27 Sept. 10 To achieve the effects, they would use so-called nanoplastics, compounds which in the not-too-distant future would be able to change their shape, size and temperature on command.
2. In plural: extremely small fragments of plastic, in the range of 1–100 nm, resulting from the disposal or breakdown of plastic products and waste. In singular: such fragments viewed as a substance.Frequently used in the context of nanoplastics as a source of pollution or debris, esp. in a marine environment.
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2011 A. L. Andrady in Marine Pollution Bull. 62 1601/1 Recognition that microparticles (and therefore also nanoplastics) are most likely generated on beaches underlines the importance of beach cleaning as an effective mitigation strategy.
2019 Express (Nexis) 23 Feb. 17 Plastic in the sea breaks down into minute nanoplastic and microplastic particles which enter the food chain through plankton.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1994