flatware

[flat-wair]

noun

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

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

flatware

/ ˈflætˌwɛə /

noun

1. cutlery

2. any relatively flat tableware such as plates, saucers, etc Compare hollowware

Word History and Origins

Origin of flatware¹

First recorded in 1850–55; flat ¹ + ware ¹

Example Sentences

Unlike with curtains or cabinets, good, functional flatware is all made of the same material: 18/10 stainless steel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the dishwashing machine finishes, the pans, plates, glasses and flatware are especially hot.

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She sold flatware, stemware and linens, setting the pieces out on antique furniture — marble topped butcher tables, rattan settees, Art Deco bars — which, because customers asked, she began to sell too.

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Its website and social media are packed with tutorials for turning leftover jars into spice containers, holiday decorations and flatware holders.

Read more on Salon

Yet if you peer beyond the bowl of bananas and crooning stereo, you would find a drawer of flatware.

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Related Words

• cutlery 
• tableware