platter
Americannoun
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platters
plural
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a large, shallow dish, usually elliptical in shape, for holding and serving food, especially meat or fish.
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a course of a meal, usually consisting of a variety of foods served on the same plate.
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Slang. a phonograph record.
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Computers. a hard disk, the rigid circular plate that rotates on a spindle within a hard disk drive, for data encoding and retrieval.
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Movie Slang. a part of a motion-picture projector, consisting of a large, horizontally rotating disk that houses a feature film.
noun
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a large shallow usually oval dish or plate, used for serving food
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a course of a meal, usually consisting of several different foods served on the same plate
a seafood platter
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of platter
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English plater, from Anglo-French, derivative of plat “dish”; see origin at plate 1, -er 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
With their debut full-length self-titled album released Friday, the same day as their first Hollywood Bowl appearance supporting Al Green, this moment was not handed to them on a silver platter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
A platter of summer tomatoes, tuna-belly conserva, shaved onion, and punchy olives arrives where it cannot possibly fit.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
"You can't offer anything on a silver platter and unfortunately, we did a couple of times."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The platter cost $642.50—but ended up costing JPMorgan far, far more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Lily passes Mother a platter of stuffed mushrooms.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
Take, for example, elaborate platters of vegetable crudité, complete with cottage cheese, yellow mustard and a sausage or two.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
Whether it’s silver platters or things left out on the street during bulky item pickup day, the couple is always searching for stylish, affordable finds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
Eagerly they dig into platters of durian, carefully arranged from the mildest to the richest.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
If you’re expecting a larger crowd, pile ice on large platters, spread your shrimp out on top and let everyone peel their own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
The courses appear in rapid succession—savory rabbit and roasted duck and fish, platters of vegetables and salads.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
