plate
1
[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
noun
verb (used with object), plat·ed, plat·ing.
Idioms for plate
have on one's plate, Informal.
to have as an immediate task, obligation, or prospect: I had too much on my plate already to take on another task.
Origin of plate
1
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French: literally, something flat, noun use of feminine of
plat
flat1 < Vulgar Latin
*plattus, akin to Greek
platýs broad, flat
OTHER WORDS FROM plate
plate·less, adjective plate·like, adjectiveWords nearby plate
plat.,
plata,
plataea,
platan,
platband,
plate,
plate armor,
plate armour,
plate block,
plate culture,
plate girder
Definition for plate (2 of 3)
plate
2
[ pleyt ]
/ pleɪt /
noun Obsolete.
a coin, especially of silver.
Origin of plate
2
1200–50; Middle English < Old French; special use of
plate
plate1
Definition for plate (3 of 3)
home plate
noun Baseball.
the base at which the batter stands and which a base runner must reach safely in order to score a run, typically a five-sided slab of whitened rubber set at ground level at the front corner of the diamond.
Origin of home plate
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Example sentences from the Web for plate
British Dictionary definitions for plate (1 of 3)
plate
/ (pleɪt) /
noun
verb (tr)
See also
plate up
Word Origin for plate
C13: from Old French: thin metal sheet, something flat, from Vulgar Latin
plattus (unattested); related to Greek
platus flat
British Dictionary definitions for plate (2 of 3)
British Dictionary definitions for plate (3 of 3)
home plate
noun
baseball
a flat often five-sided piece of hard rubber or other material that serves to define the area over which the pitcher must throw the ball for a strike and that a base runner must safely reach on his way from third base to score a run
Also called: plate, home, home base
Medical definitions for plate
plate
[ plāt ]
n.
v.
To form a very thin layer of a bacterial culture by streaking it on the surface of agar to isolate individual organisms from which a colonial clone will develop.
Scientific definitions for plate
plate
[ plāt ]
Noun
A thin, flat sheet of metal or other material, especially one used as an electrode in a storage battery or capacitor, or as the anode of an electron tube.
In plate tectonics, one of the sections of the Earth's lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) that is in constant motion along with other sections. It is the interaction of the plates that causes mountains, volcanos, and other land features to form and that causes earthquakes to occur. Six major plates and numerous smaller ones are recognized. See more at tectonic boundary.
Verb
To coat or cover with a thin layer of metal.
Idioms and Phrases with plate
plate
see hand to on a silver platter (serve up on a plate); have a lot on one's plate.