plate
♦ plate /pl'eɪt/ (plates)
1 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a round or oval flat dish that is used to hold food.
Anita pushed her plate away; she had eaten virtually nothing.
[N-COUNT] usu N of n
A plate of food is the amount of food on the plate.
...a huge plate of bacon and eggs.
2 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a flat piece of metal, especially on machinery or a building.
3 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a small, flat piece of metal with someone's name written on it, which you usually find beside the front door of an office or house.
4 [N-PLURAL]
On a road vehicle, the plates are the panels at the front and back which display the license number in the United States, and the registration number in Britain.
...dusty-looking cars with New Jersey plates.
see also number plate, license plate
5 [N-UNCOUNT]
Plate is dishes, bowls, and cups that are made of precious metal, especially silver or gold.
...gold and silver plate, jewellery, and roomfuls of antique furniture.
6 [N-COUNT]
A plate in a book is a picture or photograph which takes up a whole page and is usually printed on better quality paper than the rest of the book.
Fermor's book has 55 colour plates.
7 [N-COUNT]
In geology, a plate is a large piece of the earth's surface, perhaps as large as a continent, which moves very slowly. (TECHNICAL)
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you have enough on your plate or have a lot on your plate, you have a lot of work to do or a lot of things to deal with.
We have enough on our plate. There is plenty of work to be done on what we have.
9 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone has things handed to them on a plate, you disapprove of them because they get good things easily. (mainly BRIT)
Even the presidency was handed to him on a plate.li|cense plate (license plates)
[N-COUNT]
A license plate is a sign on the front and back of a vehicle that shows its license number. (AM; in BRIT, use number plate)num|ber plate (number plates)
also numberplate
[N-COUNT]
A number plate is a sign on the front and back of a vehicle that shows its registration number. (BRIT; in AM, use license plate)
He drove a Rolls-Royce with a personalised number plate.plate glass
also plate-glass
[N-UNCOUNT]
Plate glass is thick glass made in large, flat pieces, which is used especially to make large windows and doors.plate tec|ton|ics
[N-UNCOUNT]
Plate tectonics is the way that large pieces of the earth's surface move slowly around. (TECHNICAL)sil|ver plate
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Silver plate is metal that has been coated with a thin layer of silver.
...silver-plate cutlery.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Silver plate is dishes, bowls, and cups that are made of silver. (BRIT; in AM, use silver, solid silver)
...gold and silver plate, jewellery, and roomfuls of antique furniture.soup plate (soup plates)
[N-COUNT]
A soup plate is a deep plate with a wide edge in which soup is served.
1 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a round or oval flat dish that is used to hold food.
Anita pushed her plate away; she had eaten virtually nothing.
[N-COUNT] usu N of n
A plate of food is the amount of food on the plate.
...a huge plate of bacon and eggs.
2 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a flat piece of metal, especially on machinery or a building.
3 [N-COUNT]
A plate is a small, flat piece of metal with someone's name written on it, which you usually find beside the front door of an office or house.
4 [N-PLURAL]
On a road vehicle, the plates are the panels at the front and back which display the license number in the United States, and the registration number in Britain.
...dusty-looking cars with New Jersey plates.
see also number plate, license plate
5 [N-UNCOUNT]
Plate is dishes, bowls, and cups that are made of precious metal, especially silver or gold.
...gold and silver plate, jewellery, and roomfuls of antique furniture.
6 [N-COUNT]
A plate in a book is a picture or photograph which takes up a whole page and is usually printed on better quality paper than the rest of the book.
Fermor's book has 55 colour plates.
7 [N-COUNT]
In geology, a plate is a large piece of the earth's surface, perhaps as large as a continent, which moves very slowly. (TECHNICAL)
8 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you have enough on your plate or have a lot on your plate, you have a lot of work to do or a lot of things to deal with.
We have enough on our plate. There is plenty of work to be done on what we have.
9 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone has things handed to them on a plate, you disapprove of them because they get good things easily. (mainly BRIT)
Even the presidency was handed to him on a plate.li|cense plate (license plates)
[N-COUNT]
A license plate is a sign on the front and back of a vehicle that shows its license number. (AM; in BRIT, use number plate)num|ber plate (number plates)
also numberplate
[N-COUNT]
A number plate is a sign on the front and back of a vehicle that shows its registration number. (BRIT; in AM, use license plate)
He drove a Rolls-Royce with a personalised number plate.plate glass
also plate-glass
[N-UNCOUNT]
Plate glass is thick glass made in large, flat pieces, which is used especially to make large windows and doors.plate tec|ton|ics
[N-UNCOUNT]
Plate tectonics is the way that large pieces of the earth's surface move slowly around. (TECHNICAL)sil|ver plate
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Silver plate is metal that has been coated with a thin layer of silver.
...silver-plate cutlery.
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Silver plate is dishes, bowls, and cups that are made of silver. (BRIT; in AM, use silver, solid silver)
...gold and silver plate, jewellery, and roomfuls of antique furniture.soup plate (soup plates)
[N-COUNT]
A soup plate is a deep plate with a wide edge in which soup is served.