plate

noun

/pleɪt/

Idioms

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food

enlarge image

[countable] a flat, usually round, dish that you put food on

sandwiches on a plate
There was an enormous pile of dirty plates in the kitchen sink.
The set includes four dinner plates, four side plates and four soup bowls.
They filled their plates with spaghetti.

for strength

[countable] a thin flat piece of metal, used especially to join or make something stronger

The tanks were mainly constructed of steel plates.
She had a metal plate inserted in her arm.

for information

[countable] a flat piece of metal with some information on it, for example somebody’s name

A brass plate beside the door said ‘Dr Alan Tate’.

on vehicle

[usually plural] the pieces of metal or plastic at the front and back of a vehicle with numbers and letters on it see also GB plate, L-plate, license plate, number plate, vanity plate

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

licence/license
number
name
…

See full entry

silver/gold

[uncountable] ordinary metal that is covered with a thin layer of silver or gold

The cutlery is plate, not solid silver.

see also gold plate, silver plate, tinplate

[uncountable] dishes, bowls, etc. that are made of silver or gold

the family plate

on animal

[countable] (biology) one of the thin flat pieces of horn or bone that cover and protect an animal

the armadillo’s protective shell of bony plates

geology

[countable] one of the very large pieces of rock that form the earth’s surface and move slowly

the Pacific plate
Earthquakes are caused by two tectonic plates bumping into each other.

printing/photography

[countable] a photograph that is used as a picture in a book, especially one that is printed on a separate page on high quality paper

The book includes 55 colour plates.
See plate 4.
She looked like a fashion plate.

[countable] a sheet of metal, plastic, etc. that has been treated so that words or pictures can be printed from it

a printing plate

[countable] a thin sheet of glass, metal, etc. that is covered with chemicals so that it reacts to light and can form an image, used in larger or older cameras

in mouth

[countable] a thin piece of plastic with wire or artificial teeth attached to it which fits inside your mouth in order to make your teeth straight compare brace, dentures

in baseball

(North American English)

(also home plate, home base ())

[singular] (in baseball) the place where the person hitting the ball stands and where they must return to after running around all the bases

in church

(usually the plate)

[singular] a flat dish that is used to collect money from people in a church

see also bookplate, breastplate, footplate, hotplate

Word OriginMiddle English (denoting a flat, thin sheet, usually of metal): from Old French, from medieval Latin plata ‘plate armour’, based on Greek platus ‘flat’. Senses (1) to (3) represent Old French plat ‘platter, large dish’, also ‘dish of meat’, noun use of Old French plat ‘flat’.

Idioms

hand something to somebody on a plate

(informal) to give something to somebody without that person making any effort
- Nobody's going to hand you success on a plate.

have enough/a lot/too much on your plate

(informal) to have a lot of work or problems, etc. to deal with

step up to the plate

(especially North American English) to do what is necessary in order to benefit from an opportunity or deal with a crisis
- It's important for world leaders to step up to the plate and honor their commitments on global warming.
- It’s time for businesses to step up to the plate and accept responsibility.

plate

verb

/pleɪt/

[usually passive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they plate	/pleɪt/ /pleɪt/
he / she / it plates	/pleɪts/ /pleɪts/
past simple plated	/ˈpleɪtɪd/ /ˈpleɪtɪd/
past participle plated	/ˈpleɪtɪd/ /ˈpleɪtɪd/
-ing form plating	/ˈpleɪtɪŋ/ /ˈpleɪtɪŋ/

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to cover a metal with a thin layer of another metal, especially gold or silver
- be plated (with something) a silver ring plated with gold
- platinum-plated jewellery
see also gold-plated, silver-plated
to cover something with sheets of metal or another hard substance
- be plated (with something) The walls of the vault were plated with steel.
- nickel-plated wire
see also armour-plated