platform

American  

[plat-fawrm] / ˈplæt fɔrm /

noun

• platforms
  plural

1. 

   a horizontal surface, or structure with a horizontal surface, raised above the level of the surrounding area.

2. a raised flooring or other horizontal surface, such as a stage for use by public speakers, performers, etc., in a hall or meeting place.

   Synonyms:

   tenets, party line, manifesto, pulpit, rostrum, dais, stage

3. a place for public discussion; forum.

4. the raised area between or alongside the tracks of a railroad station, from which the cars of the train are entered.

5. the open entrance area, or the vestibule, at the end of a railroad passenger car.

6. a landing in a flight of stairs.

7. a public statement of the principles, objectives, and policy of a political party, especially as put forth by the representatives of the party in a convention to nominate candidates for an election.

   The platform contained the usual platitudes.

8. a body of principles on which a person or group takes a stand in appealing to the public; program; policy.

   The Fabians developed an all-embracing platform promising utopia.

9. a system of religious principles or doctrines.

10. a decklike construction on which the drill rig of an offshore oil or gas well is erected.

11. Digital Technology.

    1. hardware platform.

    2. software platform.

    3. gaming platform.

    4. application program; app.

12. Also platform business model a business model that facilitates financial, social, collaborative, or other connections between large networks of producers and consumers, typically through digital technology infrastructure.

    Rather than providing a product or service to a consumer, as a producer would, the value contribution of a platform is the strength and scale of its network.

13. Building Trades. a relatively flat member or construction for distributing weight, as a wall plate, grillage, etc.

14. Military.

    1. solid ground on which artillery pieces are mounted.

    2. a metal stand or base attached to certain types of artillery pieces.

15. Nautical. flat.

16. a flat, elevated piece of ground.

17. Geology. a vast area of undisturbed sedimentary rocks that, together with a shield, constitutes a craton.

18. 1. a thick insert of leather, cork, or other sturdy material between the uppers and the sole of a shoe, usually intended for stylish effect or to give added height.

    2. Also platform shoe a shoe with such an insert.

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platform British  

/ ˈplætfɔːm /

noun

1. a raised floor or other horizontal surface, such as a stage for speakers

2. a raised area at a railway station, from which passengers have access to the trains

3. See drilling platform production platform

4. the declared principles, aims, etc, of a political party, an organization, or an individual

5. a level raised area of ground

6. 1. the thick raised sole of some high-heeled shoes

   2. ( as modifier )

      platform shoes

7. a vehicle or level place on which weapons are mounted and fired

8. a specific type of computer hardware or computer operating system

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platform Scientific  

/ plăt′fôrm′ /

1. The basic technology of a computer system's hardware and software, defining how a computer is operated and determining what other kinds of software can be used. Additional software or hardware must be compatible with the platform.

2. The part of a continent's craton (the ancient, relatively undisturbed portion of a continental plate) that is covered by flat or nearly flat strata of sediment.

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platform ¹ Cultural  

1. The combination of computer hardware and operating system that applications must be compatible with.

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platform ² Cultural  

1. A political party's or candidate's written statement of principles and plans. A platform is usually developed by a committee at the party convention during a presidential campaign.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• platformless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• platforms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of platform

First recorded in 1540–50; earlier platte forme, from Middle French: literally, “flat form, plane figure”; see plate ¹, form

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Explanation

A platform is any raised surface you can stand on, like the platform beside subway tracks where you wait for the train to arrive. When you're standing on something that's higher than the surrounding area, you can call it a platform, like a train platform or a viewing platform at a historic site. A platform is also the official stance of a politician or a political group, like a platform of improving public education. Also, there is the footwear known as a platform shoe, which has a very thick sole which makes the wearer appear taller, like standing on a platform.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

platform platforms

Separately, Polymarket said on social media that it had temporarily halted trading on its international platform after one of its third-party providers was compromised.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

Traders who lost money on the incident will be “made whole,” the prediction-markets platform said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

DoorDash said they will not mandate exclusivity from grocers and retailers, allowing businesses to partner with any platform they choose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Zitouni, in what Paxton called a "blood-soaked shirt", appeared "to be one of the last off the train", and Paxton said he fell "between, essentially, the gap between the train and the platform".

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Once at the station they walked Madame Ionesco to the platform.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

Two other major crypto platforms, Tether and Circle, said they have also frozen a total of about $2.4bn of assets in response to the potential Binance hack.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Operating costs at the newly acquired platforms were much too high, according to Beer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Social media platforms also have their own rules.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

LuxExperience expanded its customer base with an acquisition last year, but the luxury digital retailer found itself grappling with a problem as sales stalled: Its new high-end platforms didn’t focus enough on high-end shoppers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

In this camp, instead of having individual bunks in the endless rows of numbered barracks, eight prisoners had to crowd together at night on each of the eight-foot-wide three-tiered wooden platforms that lined the walls.

From "Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps" by Andrea Warren

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Related Words

• manifesto
• plank
• policy
• principle
• program

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