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, adjective

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.
Also called home, the plate, home base.

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)

Plate
/ (pleɪt) /

noun

River Plate the English name for the (Río de la) Plata

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.