flatware

[ flat-wair ]

/ ˈflætˌwɛər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flatware ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food.

dishes or containers for the table that are more or less flat, as plates and saucers (distinguished from hollowware).

RELATED WORDS

tableware, cutlery, service, hollowware

Nearby words

flattop, flatulate, flatulence, flatulent, flatus, flatware, flatways, flatwise, flatwoods, flatwork, flatworm

Origin of flatware

First recorded in 1850–55; flat¹ + ware¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flatware

Melanie walked past the table that had been set for two with fancy china and flatware and out to the Truman Balcony.
Meet the First Female President|Nicolle Wallace|October 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Little of this, understandably, was likely to have been thrown away or lost, except for an occasional piece of flatware.
The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia|C. Malcolm Watkins
He frequently decorated his flatware with a refined etching or gravure, his hollow ware with reeding.
Seaport in Virginia|Gay Montague Moore
She loved the flatware—it always made her think of a wedding—sometimes of her own.
Ptomaine Street|Carolyn Wells

His flatware is usually distinguished by a shell motif, and gadroon edges finish and decorate many of his pieces.
Seaport in Virginia|Gay Montague Moore

British Dictionary definitions for flatware

flatware

/ (ˈflætˌwɛə) /

noun US and Canadian

cutlery

any relatively flat tableware such as plates, saucers, etcCompare hollowware

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012