Meaning & use
plate
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Meanings
nouncountable
A flat, usually round dish from which food is eaten or on which it is served.
Grammar: Countable: a plate, two plates. Plate can also mean the food on it.
Patterns
- a plate of something
- on a plate
She put a slice of pie on each plate.
He cleared the plates from the table after dinner.
A plate of warm cookies sat on the counter.
nouncountabletechnical
A large, rigid section of the Earth's outer shell that moves slowly over the softer rock below it.
Grammar: Often appears in tectonic plate and is usually plural when describing movement.
Patterns
- the plates collide
- a plate boundary
Earthquakes often strike where two plates grind against each other.
The Pacific plate is slowly sliding under the plate beside it.
Mountains rise where two plates are pushed together.
nouncountable
A flat, thin piece of metal or another hard material, often fixed to something as a cover, a sign or protection.
Grammar: Often part of a compound: license plate, name plate.
Patterns
- a plate on something
- a plate of steel
The car's license plate was covered in mud.
A brass plate by the door gave the doctor's name.
The surgeon fixed the bone with a small metal plate.
verbtransitivetechnical
To cover a surface with a thin layer of metal such as gold, silver or chrome.
Grammar: Takes an object and often with: plate the ring with gold.
Patterns
- plate something with something
The jeweler plated the bracelet with gold.
The old taps had been plated with chrome.
Cheaper cutlery is often plated with silver.
verbtransitiveinformal
To arrange food neatly on a plate for serving.
Grammar: Takes an object; common in restaurant kitchens.
Patterns
- plate something up
The chef carefully plated the fish with a spoonful of sauce.
She plated the pasta and added fresh basil on top.
Word forms
| plural | plates |
|---|---|
| third person singular | plates |
| past tense | plated |
| past participle | plated |
| -ing form | plating |
Common combinations
- dinner plate
- Place the dinner plate to the left of the fork.
- license plate
- The thief's license plate was captured on camera.
- tectonic plate
- Each tectonic plate moves a few centimeters a year.
- clear the plates
- Please help me clear the plates.
- plate of food
- He carried a plate of food to the neighbors.
- home plate
- The runner slid into home plate to score.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dish
- Dish is wider, covering any shallow or deep vessel and also the food itself, whereas plate is flat and used for eating from.
- platter
- A platter is larger and used for serving food to several people, while a plate is for one person's portion.
- sheet
- Sheet suggests a very thin, wide piece of material, while plate implies something stiffer and thicker.
- coat
- Coat is a general word for covering a surface, and plate is the specific technical word for metal coatings.
Word family
Commonly confused: plate or plaque? plate or plait?
plate vs plaque
A plaque is a flat panel, often with writing, hung on a wall, or a sticky film on teeth, whereas a plate is a dish or a metal sheet.
plate vs plait
A plait is a braid of hair or rope. In American English it can sound like plate, but it is not related to dishes.
Practice
Geologists say earthquakes happen where two tectonic ___ meet and push against each other.
Choose one answer.
Tectonic plates are the rigid sections of the Earth's crust. Plaques looks similar but means wall panels or tooth film, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.