platter

American  

[plat-er] / ˈplæt ər /

noun

1. a large, shallow dish, usually elliptical in shape, for holding and serving food, especially meat or fish.

2. a course of a meal, usually consisting of a variety of foods served on the same plate.

3. Slang. a phonograph record.

4. Computers. a hard disk, the rigid circular plate that rotates on a spindle within a hard disk drive, for data encoding and retrieval.

5. Movie Slang. a part of a motion-picture projector, consisting of a large, horizontally rotating disk that houses a feature film.

---

platter British  

/ ˈplætə /

noun

1. a large shallow usually oval dish or plate, used for serving food

2. a course of a meal, usually consisting of several different foods served on the same plate

   a seafood platter

---

platter Idioms  

1. see under hand to on a silver platter.

---

Etymology

Origin of platter

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English plater, from Anglo-French, derivative of plat “dish”; see origin at plate ¹, -er ²

Example Sentences

Suffice to say, Frau Platter had a lot on her plate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Felix Platter departed his native Switzerland to attend medical school in France.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Felix Platter departed his native Switzerland to attend medical school in France.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

After long work weeks, Davila likes to go to the Silver Platter to relax, sing and enjoy time with friends.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025

At the first Course is served in, a fair and large Bore's head, upon a Silver Platter, with Minstralsye.

From A Righte Merrie Christmasse The Story of Christ-Tide by Behrend, Arthur C.

Related Words

• disc
• dish
• disk
• tray