footplate

American  

[foot-pleyt] / ˈfʊtˌpleɪt /

noun

1. Carpentry. a plate running beneath and supporting a row of studs; mudsill.

2. a platform or special floor area on which workers stand to operate a machine.

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footplate British  

/ ˈfʊtˌpleɪt /

noun

1. 1. a platform in the cab of a locomotive on which the crew stand to operate the controls

   2. ( as modifier )

      a footplate man

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Etymology

Origin of footplate

First recorded in 1840–50; foot + plate ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

footplate

After countless trips to Home Depot looking for the right material to secure her feet to the chair’s footplate during dances, “I finally found the perfect Velcro,” she laughed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025

The footplate of the locomotive, which serves as the connector between the frame and drawbar and needs to withstand massive forces, was littered with cracks and replaced with a stronger version.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2016

"I did a lot of trips on the footplate and shovelled a lot of coal. "There was a lot of interest, even back then.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2016

When sound strikes the ear drum, the movement is transferred to the footplate of the stapes, which attaches to the oval window and presses into one of the fluid-filled ducts of the cochlea.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

From time to time, Buck Bradley stopped his shoveling, and, holding by a hand-rail, leaned far out from the footplate, scanning the metals that stretched out in two parallel lines ahead.

From The Border Boys Across the Frontier by Goldfrap, John Henry