Search results
- Dictionaryplate/pleɪt/
noun
- 1. a flat dish, typically circular and made of china, from which food is eaten or served: "he pushed his empty plate to one side and sipped his wine" Similar dishplatterbowlsalverdinner plateside platesoup plateashetarchaic:trencherchargerrare:paten
- ▪ an amount of food on a plate: "a plate of spaghetti" Similar platefulhelpingportionservingplatter
- ▪ a main course of a meal, served on one plate: North American "he recommended the roast beef plate"
- ▪ a plate of food contributed by a guest to a social gathering: Australian, New Zealand "he was invited to a party and asked to bring a plate"
- ▪ a flat dish, typically made of metal or wood, passed round a church congregation in order to collect donations of money: "they brought round the collection plates"
- ▪ a shallow glass dish on which a culture of cells or microorganisms may be grown: "a tissue culture plate"
- 2. dishes, bowls, cups, and other utensils made of gold, silver, or other metal: "an exhibition of the plate belonging to the college"
- ▪ a silver or gold dish or trophy awarded as a prize in a race or competition: "she lifted the plate in victory"
- ▪ a race or competition in which a silver or gold dish or trophy is awarded: "the final of the Ladies' Plate at Henley"
- 3. a thin, flat sheet or strip of metal or other material, typically one used to join or strengthen things or forming part of a machine: "he underwent surgery to have a steel plate put into his leg" Similar panelsheetlayerlaminaleafpaneslab
- ▪ a small, flat piece of metal or other material bearing a name or inscription and attached to a door or other object: "a discreet brass plate announced William Marsden, RA" Similar plaquenameplatedoor platetabletsignbrassmedallionplaquettecartouche
- ▪ short for number plate
- ▪ short for home plate
- ▪ a horizontal timber laid along the top of a wall to support the ends of joists or rafters.
- ▪ a light horseshoe for a racehorse.
- 4. a thin, flat organic structure or formation: "the fused bony plates protect the tortoise's soft parts"
- 5. each of the several rigid pieces of the earth's lithosphere which together make up the earth's surface. "the Pacific Ocean plate"
- 6. a sheet of metal, plastic, or other material bearing an image of type or illustrations from which multiple copies are printed: "the correct alignment of the plates in four-colour printing"
- ▪ a printed photograph, picture, or illustration, especially one on superior-quality paper in a book: "the book contains sixty colour plates" Similar pictureprintillustrationphotographphotoengravinglithographrare:vignette
- ▪ a thin sheet of metal, glass, or other substance coated with a light-sensitive film on which an image is formed, used in larger or older types of camera.
- 7. a thin piece of plastic moulded to the shape of a person's mouth and gums, to which artificial teeth or another orthodontic appliance are attached.
- ▪ a complete denture or orthodontic appliance. informal
- 8. a thin piece of metal that acts as an electrode in a capacitor, battery, or cell.
- ▪ the anode of a thermionic valve. North American
verb
- 1. cover (a metal object) with a thin coating of a different metal.
- ▪ cover (an object) with plates of metal for decoration, protection, or strength: "the ship is plated in the bows with steel eighteen millimetres thick"
- 2. serve or arrange (food) on a plate or plates: "overcooked vegetables won't look appetizing, no matter how they are plated"
- 3. score or cause to score (a run or runs): "Matt Wignot plated two of Clarkson's runs"
- 4. inoculate (cells or infective material) on to a culture plate, especially with the object of isolating a particular strain of microorganisms or estimating viable cell numbers.
Word Origin Middle English (denoting a flat, thin sheet, usually of metal): from Old French, from medieval Latin plata ‘plate armour’, based on Greek platus ‘flat’. plate (sense 1 of the noun) represents Old French plat ‘platter, large dish’, also ‘dish of meat’, noun use of Old French plat ‘flat’.
Derivatives
- 1. plateful noun
- 2. plateless adjective
- 3. plater noun
Scrabble Points: 7
P
3L
1A
1T
1E
1
Powered by Oxford Dictionaries