1
: a green faintly translucent quartz
2
[New Latin, from Late Latin]
a
: the fluid part of blood, lymph, or milk as distinguished from suspended material
especially
: blood plasma
b
: the juice that can be expressed from muscle
3
4
: a collection of charged particles (as in the atmospheres of stars or in a metal) containing about equal numbers of positive ions and electrons and exhibiting some properties of a gas but differing from a gas in being a good conductor of electricity and in being affected by a magnetic field
5
: a display (such as a television screen) consisting of discrete cells of plasma sandwiched between two layers of glass and electrodes such that each cell emits light when it receives an electric current
Examples of plasma in a Sentence
the plasma that makes up a star
Our new TV is a 50-inch plasma.
Recent Examples on the Web
This peak increases the rate of space weather events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections, or bubbles of plasma that burst along with the flares.
—
Ty Roush, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The northern lights are usually triggered by huge clouds of plasma spat out from the sun—known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs—hitting our planet's magnetic field and sparking a geomagnetic storm.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025
CMEs are a combination of magnetic field and plumes of plasma that can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth.
—Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Among them were awesome volcanic eruptions of lava in Iceland and Hawaii, as well as mind-boggling eruptions of plasma from the Sun that caused dazzling displays of the Northern Lights.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for plasma 
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Ty Roush, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The northern lights are usually triggered by huge clouds of plasma spat out from the sun—known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs—hitting our planet's magnetic field and sparking a geomagnetic storm.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 3 Jan. 2025
CMEs are a combination of magnetic field and plumes of plasma that can cause geomagnetic storms on Earth.
—Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Among them were awesome volcanic eruptions of lava in Iceland and Hawaii, as well as mind-boggling eruptions of plasma from the Sun that caused dazzling displays of the Northern Lights.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for plasma
Dictionary Entries Near plasma
Cite this Entry
“Plasma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plasma. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
plasma
noun
plas·ma
ˈplaz-mə 
1
: the watery part of blood, lymph, or milk
2
: a collection of charged particles that shows some characteristics of a gas but that differs from a gas in being a good conductor of electricity and in being affected by a magnetic field
Medical Definition
plasma
noun
plas·ma
ˈplaz-mə
1
a
: the fluid part especially of blood, lymph, or milk that is distinguished from suspended material see blood plasma
b
: the juice that can be expressed from muscle
2
3
: a mixture of starch and gel used as an ointment base
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