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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

  1. footmen's gallery,
  2. footnote,
  3. footpace,
  4. footpad,
  5. footpath,
  6. footprint,
  7. footprints on the sands of time,
  8. footrace,
  9. footrest,
  10. 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.