license plate

American  

noun

• license plates
  plural

1. a plate or tag, usually of metal, bearing evidence of official registration and permission, as for the use of a motor vehicle.

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license plate British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): numberplate. a plate mounted on the front and back of a motor vehicle bearing the registration number

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• license plates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of license plate

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

license plate

While at Leno’s garage Wednesday, Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 2541 into law, creating a special license plate to honor California’s lowrider heritage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Last week, I was at a parking machine and needed to input my license plate number.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

California has officially run out of combinations for its current license plate sequence, ending a string of plates dating back to the 1980s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The legislation made no reference to license plate readers, and Rep. Brian Harrison, who voted for the bill, said he wasn’t aware of any conversations about using the fee increase that way.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

A: We have a partial on the license plate from a security camera across the street.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed