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plasma

American  
[plaz-muh] / ˈplæz mə /
Also plasm

noun

  1. Anatomy, Physiology. the liquid part of blood or lymph, as distinguished from the suspended elements.

  2. Cell Biology. cytoplasm.

  3. whey.

  4. a green, faintly translucent chalcedony.

  5. Physics. a highly ionized gas containing an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons.

plasma British  
/ ˈplæzmə, plæzˈmætɪk /

noun

  1. the clear yellowish fluid portion of blood or lymph in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended

  2. short for blood plasma

  3. a former name for protoplasm cytoplasm

  4. physics

    1. a hot ionized material consisting of nuclei and electrons. It is sometimes regarded as a fourth state of matter and is the material present in the sun, most stars, and fusion reactors

    2. the ionized gas in an electric discharge or spark, containing positive ions and electrons and a small number of negative ions together with un-ionized material

  5. a green slightly translucent variety of chalcedony, used as a gemstone

  6. a less common term for whey

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
plasma Scientific  
/ plăz′mə /

  1. See blood plasma

  2. Protoplasm or cytoplasm.

  3. One of four main states of matter, similar to a gas, but consisting of positively charged ions with most or all of their detached electrons moving freely about. Plasmas are produced by very high temperatures, as in the Sun and other stars, and also by the ionization resulting from exposure to an electric current, as in a fluorescent light bulb or a neon sign.

  4. See more at state of matter

plasma 1 Cultural  

  1. The liquid part of blood or lymph. Blood plasma is mainly water; it also contains gas es, nutrients, and hormones. The red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are all suspended in the plasma of the blood.

plasma 2 Cultural  

  1. A state of matter in which some or all of the electrons have been torn from their parent atoms. The negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions move independently.

Discover More

Plasmas are usually associated with very high temperatures — most of the sun is a plasma, for example.

Other Word Forms

  • plasmatic adjective
  • plasmic adjective

Etymology

Origin of plasma

First recorded in 1705–15; from Late Latin, from Greek plásma “formed, molded (thing),” akin to plássein “to form, mold”; plastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By drawing on plasma physics, atmospheric science, and geophysics, this approach expands the traditional view that earthquakes are driven solely by forces inside the planet.

From Science Daily

Kara Walker sliced apart the statue with a plasma cutter and welded it back together in an entirely new form.

From Los Angeles Times

The treatment, known as anito-cel, is designed for patients with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer arising from plasma cells in the bone marrow.

From Barron's

The predictive approach centers on measuring p tau217, a protein found in plasma, the liquid component of blood.

From Science Daily

They analyzed thousands of proteins, lipids, metabolites, and trace elements in both plasma and red blood cells.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.