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

See Examples For:

hot plate

They never owned a car and for a time had to cook meals on a hot plate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

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

My server at Asadero presented the sizzling hot plate like a ring bearer delivering the pillow.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 26, 2024

He lived in a neighborhood called Orange Grove in a white family’s garage, which he’d turned into a cottage-type thing with a hot plate and a bed.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah