plague and plaque differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. plague means “a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal”. plaque means “(pathology) a small abnormal patch on or inside the body”. plague is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈpleɪɡ/
1.n.a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
2.n.any epidemic disease with a high death rate
3.n.a swarm of insects that attack plants
“a plague of grasshoppers”
/ˈplæk/
| plague | plaque | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈpleɪɡ/ | /ˈplæk/ |
| Said | playg | plak |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun, verb | noun |
| Senses | 7 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | pestilence, pest, pestis | none recorded |
Full entry for plague · Full entry for plaque · More comparisons
1.n.(pathology) a small abnormal patch on or inside the body
2.n.a memorial made of brass