¹plate

noun \ˈplāt\

: a flat and usually round dish that is used for eating or serving food

: the food that is served on a plate

: a thin, flat piece of metal

Full Definition of PLATE

a : a smooth flat thin piece of material

b (1) : forged, rolled, or cast metal in sheets usually thicker than ¹⁄₄ inch (6 millimeters) (2) : a very thin layer of metal deposited on a surface of base metal by plating

c : one of the broad metal pieces used in armor; also : armor of such plates

d (1) : a thin relatively flat anatomical part (as a lamina of bone) of an animal body; especially : scute (2) : the thin under portion of the forequarter of beef; especially : the fatty back part — see beef illustration

e : home plate

f : any of the large movable segments into which the earth's lithosphere is divided according to the theory of plate tectonics

[Middle English; partly from Anglo-French plate plate, bullion; partly from Old Spanish plata silver, from Vulgar Latin *platta metal plate, from feminine of plattus flat]

a obsolete : a silver coin

b : precious metal; especially : silver bullion

[Middle English, from Anglo-French plat, plate dish, plate, from plat flat]

a : domestic hollowware made of or plated with gold, silver, or base metals

b : a shallow usually circular vessel from which food is eaten or served

c (1) : a quantity to fill a plate : plateful (2) : a main course served on a plate (3) : food and service supplied to one person <a dinner at $10 a plate>

d (1) : a prize given to the winner in a contest (2) British : a horse race in which the contestants compete for a prize of fixed value rather than stakes

e : a dish or pouch passed during collections

f : a flat glass or plastic dish used chiefly for culturing microorganisms

a : a prepared surface from which printing is done

b : a sheet of material (as glass or plastic) coated with a light-sensitive photographic emulsion

c : a metallic grid with its interstices filled with active material that forms one of the structural units of a battery

d : license plate

: a horizontal structural member that provides bearing and anchorage especially for the trusses of a roof or the rafters

: the part of a denture that fits to the mouth; broadly : denture

: a full-page illustration often on different paper from the text pages

: a schedule of matters to deal with <have a lot on my plate now>

— plate·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— on a plate

: without having been earned : as a gift <goals were handed to them on a plate>

See plate defined for English-language learners

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Origin of PLATE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from plate, feminine of plat flat, from Vulgar Latin *plattus, probably from Greek platys broad, flat — more at place

First Known Use: 14th century