license plate

American  

noun

license plates plural

1. a plate or tag, usually of metal, bearing evidence of official registration and permission, as for the use of a motor vehicle.

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license plate British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): numberplate.  a plate mounted on the front and back of a motor vehicle bearing the registration number

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• license plates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of license plate

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

license plate

"The Tennessee license plate used to have a sign on it, or a little motto that said, 'Follow me to Tennessee,'" Bessent said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Kazakova was driving a white 2016 Mazda CX-5 with the California license plate 7SJW989, according to the alert.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Founded in 2017, Flock began by selling its solar-powered cameras, known as automated license plate readers, to neighborhood groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Flock promotes its 20 billion license plate reads a month—and ability to solve crimes across jurisdictions—to prospective law-enforcement customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

A police officer asked where our license plate was.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter