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 (distinguished from 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
Compare meaning
How does flatware compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The word flatware refers to the implements you use for eating or serving food. When you set the table with spoons, forks, and knives, you grab the flatware from the drawer. You can also call flatware silverware or cutlery. Sometimes the word means everything you'd use to set the table, including dishes and plates, which is actually its original definition, dating from around 1850. Back then, you might refer to your plates as flatware and call your glasses hollow ware. Today, if your grandpa asks you to bring the flatware to the table, he probably means forks and spoons.
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.
A couple of silver serving spoons were missing from a box of stainless-steel flatware that survived, said Chris, who did not report them to the authorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Certain coins, pieces of jewelry or select flatware or serving pieces — even grandma’s cutlery — can have added value.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 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
Unlike with curtains or cabinets, good, functional flatware is all made of the same material: 18/10 stainless steel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
I circled around the table, laying down flatware.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
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.
