plate

[ pleyt ]

/ pleɪt /

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See synonyms for: plate / plated / plates / plating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a shallow, usually circular dish, often of earthenware or porcelain, from which food is eaten.

the contents of such a dish.

an entire course of a meal served on such a dish: I had the vegetable plate for lunch.

the food and service for one person, as at a banquet, fund-raising dinner, or the like: The wedding breakfast cost $20 a plate.

household dishes, utensils, etc., of metal plated with gold or silver.

household dishes, utensils, etc., made of gold or silver.

Also called col·lec·tion plate

[kuh-lek-shuhn pleyt], /kəˈlɛk ʃən ˌpleɪt/, of·fer·ing plate

[aw-fer-ing pleyt, of-er‐] /ˈɔ fər ɪŋ ˌpleɪt, ˈɒf ər‐/ . a dish, as of metal or wood, used for collecting offerings, as in a church: I don't make enough money to tithe, but I always bring a few dollars for when they pass the plate during service.

a thin, flat sheet or piece of metal or other material, especially of uniform thickness.

metal in such sheets.

a flat, polished piece of metal on which something may be or is engraved.

Usually plates . license plate: a car with New Jersey plates.

a flat or curved sheet of metal, plastic, glass, or similar hard material, on which a picture or text has been engraved, etched, molded, photographically developed, or drawn, that is inked, as in a press, for printing impressions on other surfaces.

a printed impression from such a piece or from some similar piece, as a woodcut.

a full-page illustration in a book, especially an insert on paper different from the text pages.

a piece of armor made from a thin, flat piece or several such pieces of tough material, especially wrought iron or steel.

armor composed of thin, flat pieces; plate armor.

Dentistry.

the part of a denture that conforms to the mouth and contains the teeth.
the entire denture.

Baseball.

the plate. home plate.
rubber¹ (def. 14).

plate glass.

Photography. a sheet of glass, metal, etc., coated with a sensitized emulsion, used for taking a photograph.

Anatomy, Zoology. a platelike part, structure, or organ.

a thin piece or cut of beef from the lower end of the ribs.

Geology. crustal plate: the Pacific Plate;the Cocos and Rivera Plates.

Electronics. one of the interior elements of a vacuum tube, toward which electrons are attracted by virtue of its positive charge; anode. Abbreviation: P

Carpentry. any of various horizontal timbers or boards laid flat across the heads of studding, upon floors, etc., to support joists, rafters, or studs at or near their ends.

a gold or silver cup or the like awarded as the prize in a horse race or some other contest.

a horse race or some other contest for such a prize.

Heraldry. a rounded argent.

verb (used with object), plat·ed, plat·ing.

to coat (metal) with a thin film of gold, silver, nickel, etc., by mechanical or chemical means.

to cover or overlay with metal plates for protection.

to place (food) on or in a dish before serving (often followed by up): Plate the scallops, then deglaze the pan to make your sauce.

Metalworking.

to forge (a bloom or the like) into a broad piece.
to hammer (cutlery) gently to produce an even surface.

Printing. to make a stereotype or electrotype plate from (type).

Papermaking. to give a high gloss to (paper), as on supercalendered paper.

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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

First 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, adjective

Words 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

First 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

While it doesn’t have a dry cycle, it’s still very efficient at getting those leftovers off the plate so all you have to do is dry them as you put them up.
Small dishwashers that fit in almost any kitchen|PopSci Commerce Team|August 25, 2020|Popular-Science
This was a huge shift going from not knowing whether her technical SEO tickets were prioritized above a mystery plate of work tasks to developers caring about SEO every bit as much as they might frontend design details.
Power SEO Friendly Markup With HTML5, CSS3, And Javascript|Detlef Johnson|August 20, 2020|Search Engine Land
The home plate umpire then hears a voice through an earpiece.
A robot referee can really keep its ‘eye’ on the ball|Kathryn Hulick|August 20, 2020|Science News For Students
So they’re letting streaming services take some off their plates.
Netflix is happy to buy up the movies Hollywood studios can’t release|Adam Epstein|August 4, 2020|Quartz

Known as Borealopelta markmitchelli, this plant-muncher had been covered in plates of armor.
Fossil stomach reveals a dinosaur’s last meal|Carolyn Wilke|July 7, 2020|Science News For Students
Using a heatproof slotted spoon, remove the shallots to a paper towel-lined plate.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Allow beans to cool completely then remove to a paper towel-lined plate to dry.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole|Carla Hall|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The young man had the presence of mind to tail Gaylard Williams out of the park and jot down his license plate.
Exposed: The Gay-Bashing Pastor’s Same-Sex Assault|M.L. Nestel|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chris Stein of Blondie catches Ramone with an “aw, shucks” expression just after he drops a plate of food.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In another case, a whole plate of uneaten food (including nuts, hummus and raisins) was pureed and inserted rectally.
‘Rectal Feeding’ Has Nothing to Do with Nutrition, Everything to Do with Torture|Russell Saunders|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Well, the pudding moment arrived, and a huge slice almost obscured from sight the plate before us.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
He conducts this ceremony with the greatest solemnity, occasionally pronouncing these incantatory words, "Plate or shell, sah?"
Physiology of The Opera|John H. Swaby (AKA "Scrici")
We sat down pell-mell, anywhere, I next to Liszt, who kept putting things on my plate.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
He silenced her with a gesture, and, leaving a piece of toast half-eaten on his plate, he got up and went into his study.
Uncanny Tales|Various
The prizes were plate, and the profits were to be expended in repairing the havens of the kingdom.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for plate (1 of 2)

plate

/ (pleɪt) /

noun

a shallow usually circular dish made of porcelain, earthenware, glass, etc, on which food is served or from which food is eaten
(as modifier)a plate rack

Also called: plateful the contents of a plate or the amount a plate will hold
Australian and NZ a plate of cakes, sandwiches, etc, brought by a guest to a partyeveryone was asked to bring a plate

an entire course of a meala cold plate

any shallow or flat receptacle, esp for receiving a collection in church

flat metal of uniform thickness obtained by rolling, usually having a thickness greater than about three millimetres

a thin coating of metal usually on another metal, as produced by electrodeposition, chemical action, etc

metal or metalware that has been coated in this way, esp with gold or silverSheffield plate

dishes, cutlery, etc, made of gold or silver

a sheet of metal, plastic, rubber, etc, having a printing surface produced by a process such as stereotyping, moulding, or photographic deposition

a print taken from such a sheet or from a woodcut, esp when appearing in a book

a thin flat sheet of a substance, such as metal or glass

armour made of overlapping or articulated pieces of thin metal

photog

a sheet of glass, or sometimes metal, coated with photographic emulsion on which an image can be formed by exposure to light
(as modifier)a plate camera

an orthodontic device, esp one used for straightening children's teeth

an informal word for denture (def. 1)

anatomy any flat platelike structure or part

a cup or trophy awarded to the winner of a sporting contest, esp a horse race
a race or contest for such a prize

any of the rigid layers of the earth's lithosphere of which there are believed to be at least 15See also plate tectonics

electronics

mainly US the anode in an electronic valve
an electrode in an accumulator or capacitor

a horizontal timber joist that supports rafters or studs

a light horseshoe for flat racing

a thin cut of beef from the brisket

See plate rail

Also called: Communion plate RC Church a flat plate held under the chin of a communicant in order to catch any fragments of the consecrated Host

archaic a coin, esp one made of silver

on a plate in such a way as to be acquired without further troublehe was handed the job on a plate

on one's plate waiting to be done or dealt withhe has a lot on his plate at the moment

verb (tr)

to coat (a surface, usually metal) with a thin layer of other metal by electrolysis, chemical reaction, etc

to cover with metal plates, as for protection

printing to make a stereotype or electrotype from (type or another plate)

to form (metal) into plate, esp by rolling

to give a glossy finish to (paper) by calendering

to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium

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)

Plate

/ (pleɪt) /

noun

River Plate the English name for the (Río de la) Plata

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

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.

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.

plate

Idioms about plate

Origin of plate

OTHER WORDS FROM plate

Words nearby plate

Other definitions for plate (2 of 2)

Origin of plate

Words related to plate

How to use plate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plate (1 of 2)

Word Origin for plate

British Dictionary definitions for plate (2 of 2)

Scientific definitions for plate

Other Idioms and Phrases with plate