Meanings
plural plastiglomerates
- countableuncountablegeographyA type of rock with plastic inclusions
Plastiglomerates are a marker for Anthropocene rocks.
1 more example
Santos and her team ran chemical tests to find out what kind of plastics are in the rocks called "plastiglomerates" because they are made of a mixture of sedimentary granules and other debris held together by plastic.
[2023 March 16, Sergio Queiroz, “Brazilian researchers find 'terrifying' plastic rocks on remote island”, in Reuters
Origin
- Proto-Hellenic*plátʰyō
- Proto-Hellenic*plát͏̌t͏̌ō?
- Ancient Greekπλάσσω (plássō)
- Ancient Greekπλᾰστῐκός (plăstĭkós)
- Latinplasticus
- Englishplastic
- Englishconglomerate
- Englishplastiglomerate
Blend of plastic + conglomerate. Coined by Patricia Corcoran and Charles Moore, who discovered the mineral formation containing plastics (synthetic polymer material).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French plastiglomérat
- plastiglomérattype of rock
Portuguese plastiglomerado
- plastiglomeradotype of rock
Russian пластигломерат
- пластигломерат (plastiglomerat)type of rock
Spanish plastiglomerado
- plastiglomeradotype of rock
Cite this entry
plastiglomerate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plastiglomerate
“plastiglomerate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plastiglomerate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plastiglomerate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plastiglomerate.
Source: plastiglomerate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.