plate
plate [plate plates plated plating] noun, verb BrE [pleɪt] NAmE [pleɪt]
noun
FOOD
1. countable a flat, usually round, dish that you put food on
•sandwiches on a plate
•a pile of dirty plates
•dinner plates 
2. countable the amount of food that you can put on a plate
•a plate of sandwiches
•two large plates of pasta
compare ↑plateful
3. countable (especially NAmE)a whole main course of a meal, served on one plate
•Try the seafood plate.
FOR STRENGTH
4. countable a thin flat piece of metal, used especially to join or make sth stronger
• The tanks were mainly constructed of steel plates.
• She had a metal plate inserted in her arm.
FOR INFORMATION
5. countable a flat piece of metal with some information on it, for example sb's name
•A brass plate beside the door said ‘Dr Alan Tate’.
see also ↑nameplate
ON VEHICLE
6. usually plural the pieces of metal or plastic at the front and back of a vehicle with numbers and letters on it
see also ↑L-plate, ↑license plate, ↑number plate
SILVER/GOLD
7. uncountable ordinary metal that is covered with a thin layer of silver or gold
•The cutlery is plate, not solid silver.
see also ↑gold plate, ↑silver plate, ↑tinplate
8. uncountable dishes, bowls, etc. that are made of silver or gold
•the family plate
ON ANIMAL
9. countable (biology)one of the thin flat pieces of horn or bone that cover and protect an animal
•the armadillo's protective shell of bony plates
GEOLOGY
10. countable one of the very large pieces of rock that form the earth's surface and move slowly
•the Pacific plate
•Earthquakes are caused by two tectonic plates bumping into each other.
see also ↑plate tectonics
PRINTING/PHOTOGRAPHY
11. countable a photograph that is used as a picture in a book, especially one that is printed on a separate page on high quality paper
•The book includes 55 colour plates.
•See plate 4.
12. countable a sheet of metal, plastic, etc. that has been treated so that words or pictures can be printed from it
•a printing plate
13. countable a thin sheet of glass, metal, etc. that is covered with chemicals so that it reacts to light and can form an image, used in larger or older cameras
IN MOUTH
14. countable a thin piece of plastic with wire or artificial teeth attached to it which fits inside your mouth in order to make your teeth straight
compare ↑brace, ↑dentures
IN BASEBALL
15. singular (NAmE) = ↑home plate
IN CHURCH
16. (usually the plate)singular a flat dish that is used to collect money from people in a church
see also ↑bookplate, ↑breastplate, ↑footplate, ↑hotplate
more at hand sth to sb on a plate at ↑hand v., step up to the plate at ↑step v.
Word Origin:
Middle English (denoting a flat, thin sheet, usually of metal): from Old French, from medieval Latin plata ‘plate armour’, based on Greek platus ‘flat’. Senses 1 to 3 represent Old French plat ‘platter, large dish’, also ‘dish of meat’, noun use of Old French plat ‘flat’.
Thesaurus:
plate noun C
•He barely touched the food on his plate.
dish • • bowl • • platter •
a plate/dish/bowl/platter of sth
on a plate/dish/platter
fill a plate/dish/bowl/platter
Example Bank:
•I could see how hungry she was from the way she cleared her plate.
•She ate everything on her plate.
•The driver was arrested for having false licence/license plates on his car.
•The sink was full of dirty plates.
•a plate of rice
•He barely touched the food on his plate.
•He came in carrying a plate of sandwiches.
•The set includes four dinner plates, four side plates and four soup bowls.
•There was an enormous pile of dirty plates in the kitchen sink.
•There were two large plates of pasta on the table.
•We used plastic cutlery and ate off paper plates.
•a vehicle's license plates
Idiom: ↑have a lot much on your plate
verb usually passive
1. ~ sth (with sth) to cover a metal with a thin layer of another metal, especially gold or silver
•a silver ring plated with gold
see also ↑gold-plated, ↑silver plate
2. ~ sth (with sth) to cover sth with sheets of metal or another hard substance
•The walls of the vault were plated with steel.
see also ↑armour-plated
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
Middle English (denoting a flat, thin sheet, usually of metal): from Old French, from medieval Latin plata ‘plate armour’, based on Greek platus ‘flat’. Senses 1 to 3 represent Old French plat ‘platter, large dish’, also ‘dish of meat’, noun use of Old French plat ‘flat’.
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