silverware
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of silverware
Compare meaning
How does silverware compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
The tools you use to eat your food, including spoons, forks, and knives, are called silverware. Some silverware is actually made of silver, but silverware made of stainless steel is much more common these days. If you're eating with a shiny plastic fork, don't call it silverware; call it plasticware. However, if you're eating with a stainless steel fork, you can get away with calling it silverware. Traditionally, fancy cutlery (or silverware) has been made of sterling silver. This is where the word silverware came from in the late 1800s. It's such a common term in the U.S. today that many people use it for knives, forks, spoons, and serving implements no matter what metal they're made of.
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.
The problem was turning more than 500 days at the top into actual silverware.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
The Catalan former midfielder has picked up more silverware during his time in England than most managers collect in entire careers: six league titles, three FA Cups, and the Champions League.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
His silverware collection is dwarfed by O'Neill's but Hearts do have their own wily old master in the background, with Sir Alex Ferguson offering guidance to McInnes.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
It was their chance to end a 36-year silverware drought and reach a first major European final since the famous Brian Clough side managed successive European Cup wins in 1979 and 1980.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
There’s a great clattering of dishes and trays from the kitchen, dropped silverware, people bumping into tables and one another as we’re all thrown into darkness.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
