footplate

[ foot-pleyt ]

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.

Origin of footplate

First recorded in 1840–50; foot + plate¹

Words Nearby footplate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use footplate in a sentence

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
When he slid back to the footplate his legs were wet to the mid shin.
The Grafters | Francis Lynde
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
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
- a platform in the cab of a locomotive on which the crew stand to operate the controls
- (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

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