plate
1[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object), plat·ed, plat·ing.
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Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Idioms for 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 in1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French: literally, “something flat,” noun use of feminine of plat (see flat1), from unattested Vulgar Latin plattus, akin to Greek platýs “broad, flat”
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 pulse, Plateau's problem
Definition for plate (2 of 2)
plate2
[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
noun Obsolete.
a coin, especially of silver.
Origin of plate
21200–50; Middle English <Old French; special use of plateplate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for plate
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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Medical definitions for plate
plate
[ plāt ]
n.
v.
To form a very thin layer of a bacterial culture by streaking it on the surface of agar to isolate individual organisms from which a colonial clone will develop.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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.
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.