plate (pleɪt
)
Definitions
noun
- a shallow usually circular dish made of porcelain, earthenware, glass, etc, on which food is served or from which food is eaten
- ((as modifier) ⇒
a plate rack
- Also called platefulthe contents of a plate or the amount a plate will hold
- Australian New Zealand a plate of cakes, sandwiches, etc, brought by a guest to a party ⇒
everyone was asked to bring a plate
- an entire course of a meal ⇒
a cold plate
- any shallow or flat receptacle, esp for receiving a collection in church
- flat metal of uniform thickness obtained by rolling, usually having a thickness greater than about three millimetres
- a thin coating of metal usually on another metal, as produced by electrodeposition, chemical action, etc
- metal or metalware that has been coated in this way, esp with gold or silver ⇒
Sheffield plate
- dishes, cutlery, etc, made of gold or silver
- a sheet of metal, plastic, rubber, etc, having a printing surface produced by a process such as stereotyping, moulding, or photographic deposition
- a print taken from such a sheet or from a woodcut, esp when appearing in a book
- a thin flat sheet of a substance, such as metal or glass
- armour made of overlapping or articulated pieces of thin metal
- photography
- a sheet of glass, or sometimes metal, coated with photographic emulsion on which an image can be formed by exposure to light
- ((as modifier) ⇒
a plate camera
- an orthodontic device, esp one used for straightening children's teeth
- an informal word for denture (sense 1)
- anatomy any flat platelike structure or part
- a cup or trophy awarded to the winner of a sporting contest, esp a horse race
- a race or contest for such a prize
- any of the rigid layers of the earth's lithosphere of which there are believed to be at least 15 See also plate tectonics
- electronics
- mainly US the anode in an electronic valve
- an electrode in an accumulator or capacitor
- a horizontal timber joist that supports rafters or studs
- a light horseshoe for flat racing
- a thin cut of beef from the brisket
- See plate rail
- Communion plateRoman Catholic Church a flat plate held under the chin of a communicant in order to catch any fragments of the consecrated Host
- archaic a coin, esp one made of silver
- See on a plate
- See on one's plate
verb (tr)
- to coat (a surface, usually metal) with a thin layer of other metal by electrolysis, chemical reaction, etc
- to cover with metal plates, as for protection
- printing to make a stereotype or electrotype from (type or another plate)
- to form (metal) into plate, esp by rolling
- to give a glossy finish to (paper) by calendering
- to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium
Word Origin
C13: from Old French: thin metal sheet, something flat, from Vulgar Latin plattus (unattested); related to Greek platus flat
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
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coat,
gild,
laminate,
face,
cover,
silver,
nickel,
overlay,
electroplate,
anodize,
platinize,
