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plate
1[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object), plat·ed, plat·ing.
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Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Idioms about plate
have on one's plate, Informal. to have as an immediate task, obligation, or prospect: I had too much on my plate already to take on another task.
Origin of plate
1First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English plat(e), plait(e), from Old French: literally, “something flat,” noun use of feminine of adjective plat, from unattested Vulgar Latin plattus, from Greek platýs “broad, flat”; see also flat1
OTHER WORDS FROM plate
plate·less, adjectiveplate·like, adjectiveWords nearby plate
Plata, Plataea, platan, platband, plat du jour, plate, plate armor, plate armour, plateau, Plateau's problem, plate block
Other definitions for plate (2 of 2)
plate2
[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
noun Obsolete.
a coin, especially of silver.
Origin of plate
2First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old French; special use of plate plate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use plate in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for plate (1 of 2)
plate
/ (pleɪt) /
noun
verb (tr)
See also plate up
Word Origin for plate
C13: from Old French: thin metal sheet, something flat, from Vulgar Latin plattus (unattested); related to Greek platus flat
British Dictionary definitions for plate (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for plate
plate
[ plāt ]
Noun
A thin, flat sheet of metal or other material, especially one used as an electrode in a storage battery or capacitor, or as the anode of an electron tube.
In plate tectonics, one of the sections of the Earth's lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) that is in constant motion along with other sections. It is the interaction of the plates that causes mountains, volcanos, and other land features to form and that causes earthquakes to occur. Six major plates and numerous smaller ones are recognized. See more at tectonic boundary.
Verb
To coat or cover with a thin layer of metal.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with plate
plate
see hand to on a silver platter (serve up on a plate); have a lot on one's plate.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.