plateful
Americannoun
-
the amount that a plate will hold.
-
a large portion or quantity.
a plateful of contracts to negotiate.
Spelling
See -ful.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of plateful
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:
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
So, if you're looking to usher in more luck in 2023, be sure to also enjoy a plateful of lucky foods!
From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2022
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
“He found out how right he was. We packed it away by the plateful and clamored for more. We all knew we were sick, but we had no idea we’d been poisoned.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
From heaping bowls of mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce to platefuls of sliced turkey and stuffing, a hearty Thanksgiving feast is bound to leave behind extras.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2022
There were probably 100 people there, most of them balancing plastic cups of pinot noir and platefuls of gouda and prosciutto and thick, artisanal crackers crammed with nuts or dried fruit.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 3, 2020
People used to stampede down the halls when it was cookie time and grab handfuls or platefuls instead of taking one.
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2019
In his mind, X. says some strongly-worded things about girls as a concept, eats two platefuls of chubby little doughnuts, and succumbs to several hours of moral and physical melancholy.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 23, 2018
Mom said as she served out three platefuls of spaghetti and meatballs.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
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.
