hot plate

American  

noun

1. a portable appliance for cooking, formerly heated by a gas burner placed underneath it, now heated chiefly by an electrical unit in the appliance.

2. a hot meal, usually consisting of meat, potato, and a vegetable, served all on one plate and usually at a set price at a restaurant or lunch counter.

3. a plate that can retain heat in order to keep food hot.

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Etymology

Origin of hot plate

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Here’s how it works: That warmer western Pacific acts like a hot plate under the atmosphere, creating rising air that sends waves rippling eastward, like dropping a stone in a pond.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2025

It’s faster and prettier than a regular hot plate.

From Slate • Apr. 7, 2024

One woman cooked an early dinner on a hot plate, seasoned chicken sizzling in oil, before letting the next person use the hot plate for their own meal.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 13, 2023

I cooked ramen on a hot plate in our one working bathroom.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2023

I don’t really want her to stay, but the idea of her going back to our motel room to eat dinner alone from the hot plate makes me feel sad.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy