plateful

American  

[pleyt-fool] / ˈpleɪt fʊl /

noun

platefuls plural

1. the amount that a plate will hold.

2. a large portion or quantity.

   a plateful of contracts to negotiate.

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Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• platefuls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of plateful

First recorded in 1760–70; plate ¹ + -ful

Example Sentences

Flag isn’t like the Baxters’ other animals: He can’t pull a plow, track a bear, provide milk, or become a plateful of cracklings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

When you bite into a juicy hamburger, slice into the perfect medium-rare steak or gobble down a plateful of chicken nuggets, your senses are most likely responding to the food's smell, taste, texture and color.

From Salon • Nov. 25, 2024

Or try warming up a frozen dinner and turning it out onto a plateful of leafy greens.

From Washington Post • Jul. 16, 2021

On breaks between shifts, groups of three or four staff members would sneak away to the employee break area to inhale a paper plateful of turkey and casserole and a slice of pumpkin pie.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2020

“Tell you what,” he said, “you and I’ll mix up those pancakes and take a plateful right up to her, and she can eat in bed for once, like a lady.”

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen