wall plate

noun

Also called raising plate. Building Trades. a horizontal member built into or laid along the top of a wall to support and distribute the pressure from joists, rafters, etc.

Machinery. a vertical metal plate secured against a wall, as to attach a bracket.

Mining. one of the longer members of a set.Compare end plate.

switch plate.

Nearby words

wall of death, wall painting, wall pass, wall pellitory, wall pepper, wall plate, wall plug, wall rock, wall rocket, wall rue, wall socket

Origin of wall plate

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wall plate

Very heavy rains fell in 1876, and we were told he was compelled by floods to remain two days on the wall-plate of his building.
Reminiscences of Queensland|William Henry Corfield
The fine panelled roof covering the N. aisle should be observed, and the projecting figures on the wall-plate of the nave.
Somerset|G.W. Wade and J.H. Wade
These were of squared timber, as was the floor also, and the outer frame and wall-plate.
Margaret Tudor|Annie T. Colcock
The continuous fillet which crowns the epistyle, representative of the wall-plate of the original timbered Doric construction.
History of Ancient Art|Franz von Reber

The east side contains a wall-plate of early date, and more of the interesting early work.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury|H. J. L. J. Mass

British Dictionary definitions for wall plate

wall plate

noun

a horizontal timber member placed along the top of a wall to support the ends of joists, rafters, etc, and distribute the load

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012