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.
Certain coins, pieces of jewelry or select flatware or serving pieces — even grandma’s cutlery — can have added value.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025
So many sellers have swarmed Manhattan’s Diamond District with bracelets and flatware that buyers have had trouble keeping enough cash on hand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 9, 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
The Arne Jacobsen set, he explains over Zoom, is an important piece of design history, but not a great piece of flatware.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025
He comes to expect the weight of their flatware in his hands, and to keep the cloth napkin, still partially folded, on his lap.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
