definitions

footplate

[ foo t-pleyt ]
/ ˈfʊtˌpleɪt /
|

noun

Carpentry. a plate running beneath and supporting a row of studs; mudsill.
a platform or special floor area on which workers stand to operate a machine.

Nearby words

footmen's gallery, footnote, footpace, footpad, footpath, footplate, footprint, footprints on the sands of time, footrace, footrest, footrope

Origin of footplate

First recorded in 1840–50; foot + plate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for footplate

  • But again the corner of the footplate jammed with the corner of the truck, and again we came to a jarring halt.

    London to Ladysmith via Pretoria|Winston Spencer Churchill

  • When he slid back to the footplate his legs were wet to the mid shin.

    The Grafters|Francis Lynde

  • He could not help thinking how excellent a thing it would be to come home after a grimy run on the footplate.

    Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City|S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

  • He caught at the rail, mounted the footplate, and swung himself into the cab.

    Sergeant Silk the Prairie Scout|Robert Leighton

British Dictionary definitions for footplate

footplate

/ (ˈfʊtˌpleɪt) /

noun

mainly British
  1. a platform in the cab of a locomotive on which the crew stand to operate the controls
  2. (as modifier)a footplate man
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

Medicine definitions for footplate

footplate

[ fut′plāt′ ]

n.

base of stapes
pedicel
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.