plate
PLAYT
Plate (noun) means a flat, shallow dish used for serving or eating food. Example: “She set a clean plate in front of each guest.”
noun
1
A flat, shallow dish used for serving or eating food.
"She set a clean plate in front of each guest."
"He piled his plate high at the buffet."
"Wash each plate carefully and stack it on the rack to dry."
2
A rigid piece of metal, glass, or other material with a flat, uniform shape.
"The safe's door is protected by a thick steel plate."
"A glass plate covered the display so visitors could not touch it."
"The mechanic bolted a metal plate over the hole in the floor."
3
A vehicle's license plate.
"Police ran the car's plate through the database."
"The witness could only remember the first letters of the van's plate."
"He bolted a new plate onto the back of his motorbike."
4
One of the large rigid sections of the Earth's crust that move over time; a tectonic plate.
"The earthquake occurred along the boundary of two tectonic plates."
"Mountains form slowly where one plate pushes against another."
"Scientists measure how fast each plate moves beneath the ocean."
verb
1
To coat the surface of an object with a thin layer of another metal.
"The jewelry is plated with gold rather than solid gold."
"The factory plates cheap spoons with silver to make them look expensive."
"They plated the bolts with zinc to stop them rusting."
How to use plate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA flat dish for food; more broadly, any flat rigid piece, including license plates and tectonic plates.
Common pairings
dinner plate
license plate
gold-plated
tectonic plate
have a lot on your plate
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Word forms
- Plural
- plates
- Third person singular
- plates
- Past tense
- plated
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She set a clean _____ in front of each guest.
Etymology
From Old French plate, ultimately from Greek platys, "broad, flat." The slang sense meaning "foot" comes from Cockney rhyming slang, "plates of meat" for "feet."
Synonyms
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Rhymes for plate
See all rhymes for plate →Frequently asked questions
What does “plate” mean?
The word “plate” means a flat, shallow dish used for serving or eating food. In plain terms, a flat dish for food; more broadly, any flat rigid piece, including license plates and tectonic plates.
How do you pronounce “plate”?
“Plate” is pronounced PLAYT (/ˈpleɪ̯t/ in IPA).
How do you use “plate” in a sentence?
Here is “plate” used in a sentence: “She set a clean plate in front of each guest.”
What part of speech is “plate”?
Depending on how it is used, “plate” can be a noun and a verb.
Where does the word “plate” come from?
The word “plate” comes from Old French. From Old French plate, ultimately from Greek platys, "broad, flat." The slang sense meaning "foot" comes from Cockney rhyming slang, "plates of meat" for "feet.".
Is “plate” a common word?
“Plate” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.
How many meanings does “plate” have?
“Plate” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a flat, shallow dish used for serving or eating food.
What is the difference between a plate and a plait?
They sound similar but are unrelated. A plate is a flat, shallow dish for serving or eating food. A plait is a length of hair, rope, or bread woven from three or more strands — the same as a braid. The words share no meaning and overlap only in sound.
What is the difference between a plate and a plateau?
A plate is a flat dish used for food. A plateau is an area of high, level ground — a raised flatland — and, figuratively, a period when progress levels off. Beyond the shared idea of flatness, the two words are entirely separate and are confused mainly because they look alike.
What are the types of plate?
Everyday tableware includes the dinner plate, the smaller side or bread plate, and the dessert plate. A shallow soup plate has a wider rim, while a charger is a large decorative plate set beneath the others. Sizes and shapes vary according to their role in a meal.
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