flatware
Americannoun
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utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food.
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dishes or containers for the table that are more or less flat, as plates and saucers (hollowware ).
noun
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cutlery
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any relatively flat tableware such as plates, saucers, etc Compare hollowware
Etymology
Origin of flatware
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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.
But its refineries, like those elsewhere in Europe, can’t keep up with rampant demand and an influx of people cashing in the family silver—things like jewelry, candlesticks and flatware.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026
Certain coins, pieces of jewelry or select flatware or serving pieces — even grandma’s cutlery — can have added value.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025
When we’re feeling flush, a sensation most of us haven’t enjoyed in quite some time, some of us invest in matching plates and flatware.
From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025
Most flatware is too heavy for her small frame, she says, and also her Pilates instructor had told her to avoid overusing certain arm muscles.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025
I circled around the table, laying down flatware.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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.
