PLATE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plate mean? 

• PLATE (noun)
  The noun PLATE has 15 senses:

1. a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic
2. (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
3. a full-page illustration (usually on slick paper)
4. dish on which food is served or from which food is eaten
5. the quantity contained in a plate
6. a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly
7. the thin under portion of the forequarter
8. a main course served on a plate
9. any flat platelike body structure or part
10. the positively charged electrode in a vacuum tube
11. a flat sheet of metal or glass on which a photographic image can be recorded
12. structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage
13. a shallow receptacle for collection in church
14. a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)
15. a dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth

  Familiarity information: PLATE used as a noun is familiar.

• PLATE (verb)
  The verb PLATE has 1 sense:

1. coat with a layer of metal

  Familiarity information: PLATE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLATE (noun)

Sense 1

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

flat solid; sheet (a flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and width)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

tap (a small metal plate that attaches to the toe or heel of a shoe (as in tap dancing))

plessimeter; pleximeter (a small thin metal plate held against the body and struck with a plexor in percussive examinations)

platen (the flat plate of a printing press that presses the paper against the type)

plate iron (a plate of iron)

nameplate (a plate bearing a name)

L-plate (a square plate bearing the letter L that is attached to both ends of a car to indicate that the driver is a learner)

license plate; numberplate (a plate mounted on the front and back of car and bearing the car's registration number)

lamella (thin plate)

gusset; gusset plate (a metal plate used to strengthen a joist)

fishplate (metal plate bolted along sides of two rails or beams)

baffle; baffle board (a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy)

cylinder head (a detachable plate that covers the closed end of a cylinder chamber in a reciprocating engine or pump)

damper (a movable iron plate that regulates the draft in a stove or chimney or furnace)

disc; disk (a flat circular plate)

engraving (a block or plate that has been engraved)

escutcheon ((nautical) a plate on a ship's stern on which the name is inscribed)

fin keel (a metal plate projecting from the keel of a shallow vessel to give it greater lateral stability)

Sense 2

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

(baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

home base; home plate; plate; home

Context example:

he ruled that the runner failed to touch home

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

bag; base (place that runner must touch before scoring)

Domain category:

baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sense 3

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A full-page illustration (usually on slick paper)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

illustration (a visual representation (a picture or diagram) that is used make some subject more pleasing or easier to understand)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

fashion plate (a plate illustrating the latest fashion in dress)

Sense 4

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Dish on which food is served or from which food is eaten

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

flatware (tableware that is relatively flat and fashioned as a single piece)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

steel plate (a plate of steel)

soup plate (a deep plate with a wide rim)

salad bowl; salad plate (a plate or bowl for individual servings of salad)

paper plate (a disposable plate made of cardboard)

dinner plate (a plate from which a diner eats during the main course of a meal)

dessert plate (a small plate on which dessert can be served)

Sense 5

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The quantity contained in a plate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

plateful; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

containerful (the quantity that a container will hold)

Sense 6

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

crustal plate; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

crust; Earth's crust (the outer layer of the Earth)

Sense 7

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The thin under portion of the forequarter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

cut of beef (piece of beef)

Sense 8

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A main course served on a plate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Context examples:

a vegetable plate / the blue plate special

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

entree; main course (the principal dish of a meal)

Sense 9

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Any flat platelike body structure or part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

operculum (a hard flap serving as a cover for (a) the gill slits in fishes or (b) the opening of the shell in certain gastropods when the body is retracted)

comb (ciliated comb-like swimming plate of a ctenophore)

frill ((paleontology) a bony plate that curves upward behind the skull of many ceratopsian dinosaurs)

lamina (a thin plate or layer (especially of bone or mineral))

Sense 10

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The positively charged electrode in a vacuum tube

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

anode (a positively charged electrode by which electrons leave an electrical device)

Holonyms ("plate" is a part of...):

electron tube; thermionic tube; thermionic vacuum tube; thermionic valve; tube; vacuum tube (electronic device consisting of a system of electrodes arranged in an evacuated glass or metal envelope)

Sense 11

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A flat sheet of metal or glass on which a photographic image can be recorded

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

photographic plate; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

flat solid; sheet (a flat artifact that is thin relative to its length and width)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

quarter plate (a photographic plate measuring 3.25 inches by 4.25 inches)

Sense 12

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

structural member (support that is a constituent part of any structure or building)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

wall plate (plate (a timber along the top of a wall) to support the ends of joists, etc., and distribute the load)

Holonyms ("plate" is a part of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Sense 13

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A shallow receptacle for collection in church

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

collection plate; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

receptacle (a container that is used to put or keep things in)

Sense 14

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

scale; shell; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

shield (a protective covering or structure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

shell plating (the plates covering the frame of a steel ship and corresponding to the planking of a wooden ship)

horseshoe; shoe (U-shaped plate nailed to underside of horse's hoof)

armor plate; armor plating; armour plate; plate armor; plate armour (specially hardened steel plate used to protect fortifications or vehicles from enemy fire)

Sense 15

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

dental plate; denture; plate

Hypernyms ("plate" is a kind of...):

dental appliance (a device to repair teeth or replace missing teeth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plate"):

bridge; bridgework (a denture anchored to teeth on either side of missing teeth)

false teeth (a removable denture)

partial denture (a denture replacing one or more teeth in a dental arch)

• PLATE (verb)

Sense 1

plate [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Coat with a layer of metal

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

plate spoons with silver

Hypernyms (to "plate" is one way to...):

coat; surface (put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "plate"):

gold plate; gold-plate; goldplate (plate with gold)

chrome; chromium-plate (plate with chromium)

electroplate (coat with metal by electrolysis)

nickel (plate with nickel)

silver (coat with a layer of silver or a silver amalgam)

tin (plate with tin)

tin (prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface)

silver-plate; silverplate (plate with silver)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something