plate

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.

   “I filled my plate from the bountiful table.”

2. (uncountable)Such dishes collectively.

   “A valuable collection of silver plate was donated to the museum.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The contents of such a dish.

   “I ate a plate of beans.”

4. (countable, uncountable)A course at a meal.

   “The meat plate was particularly tasty.”

5. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)An agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilities

   “With revenues down and transfer payments up, the legislature has a full plate.”

6. (countable, uncountable)A flat object of uniform thickness.

   “The most important and most expensive part of any solar cell is a silicon plate.”

7. (Australia, countable, especially, metonymically, plural, plural-only, uncountable)Vehicle license plates, registration plates.

   “He stole a car and changed the plates as soon as he could.”

8. (countable, uncountable)A taxi permit, especially of a metal disc.
9. (countable, historical, uncountable)Plate armor.

   “He was confronted by two knights in full plate.”

   “He hewd, and lasht, and foynd, and thondred blowes, And euery way did seeke into his life, Ne plate, ne male could ward so mighty throwes, But yeilded passage to his cruell knife.”

   “Two potent Thrones, that to be less then Gods Disdain’d, but meaner thoughts learnd in thir flight, Mangl’d with gastly wounds through Plate and Maile.”

10. (countable, uncountable)A layer of a material on the surface of something, usually qualified by the type of the material; plating

    “The bullets just bounced off the steel plate on its hull.”

11. (countable, uncountable)A material covered with such a layer.

    “If you're not careful, someone will sell you silverware that's really only silver plate.”

12. (countable, dated, uncountable)An ornamental or food service item coated with silver or gold or otherwise decorated.

    “The tea was served in the plate.”

    “The silver ore of pure Charity is an expensive article in the catalogue of a man's good Qualities—whereas the sentimental French Plate I use instead of it makes just as good a shew—and pays no tax.”

13. (countable, uncountable)A weighted disk, usually of metal, with a hole in the center for use with a barbell, dumbbell, or exercise machine.
14. (countable, uncountable)An engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper.

    “We finished making the plates this morning.”

    “"Do you really mean me to go on with plates for all the high values up to the thousand pound printing?"”

15. (countable, uncountable)An image or copy.
16. (countable, uncountable)An illustration in a book, either black and white, or colour, usually on a page of paper of different quality from the text pages.
17. (countable, uncountable)A shaped and fitted surface, usually ceramic or metal that fits into the mouth and in which teeth are implanted; a dental plate.
18. (countable, uncountable)A horizontal framing member at the top or bottom of a group of vertical studs.
19. (Cockney, countable, slang, uncountable)A person's foot.

    “Sit down and give your plates a rest.”

20. (countable, uncountable)Home plate.

    “There was a close play at the plate.”

21. (countable, uncountable)A tectonic plate.

    “Our planet's crust is split into eight major plates and many minor plates.”

22. (countable, uncountable)Any of various larger scales found in some reptiles.
23. (countable, uncountable)A flat electrode such as can be found in an accumulator battery, or in an electrolysis tank.
24. (countable, uncountable)The anode of a vacuum tube.

    “Regulating the oscillator plate voltage greatly improves the keying.”

25. (countable, uncountable)A prize given to the winner in a contest.
26. (countable, uncountable)Any flat piece of material such as coated glass or plastic.
27. (countable, dated, uncountable)A metallic card, used to imprint tickets with an airline's logo, name, and numeric code.
28. (broadly, countable, uncountable)The ability of a travel agent to issue tickets on behalf of a particular airline.
29. (Australia, countable, uncountable)A VIN plate, particularly with regard to the car's year of manufacture.
30. (countable, uncountable)One of the thin parts of the brisket of an animal.
31. (countable, uncountable)A very light steel horseshoe for racehorses.
32. (countable, uncountable)Skins for fur linings of garments, sewn together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted.
33. (countable, uncountable)The fine nap (as of beaver, musquash, etc.) on a hat whose body is made from inferior material.
34. (countable, uncountable)A record, usually vinyl.
35. (countable, uncountable)trauma plate.

    “The SAPI plate in his vest protected him from the bullet's impact.”

36. (countable, slang, uncountable)Any of the potential romantic or sexual partners with whom a person keeps in touch as part of plate spinning.

    “More plates means more dates!”

37. (countable, uncountable)A Lego piece that is thin, 1/3 the height of a brick, and has studs on top.
38. (uncountable, usually)Precious metal, especially silver.

    “At every meal—and I have heard the meals at Petleighcote were neither abundant nor succulent—enough plate stood upon the table to pay for the feeding of the poor of the whole county for a month”

    “At the northern extremity of this chill province the gold plate of the Groans, pranked across the shining black of the long table, smoulders as though it contains fire[…]”

39. (obsolete)Silver or gold, in the form of a coin, or less often silver or gold utensils or dishes.

    “[…] realms and islands were As plates dropp’d from his pocket.”

40. A roundel of silver or argent.

verb

1. To cover the surface material of an object with a thin coat of another material, usually a metal.

   “This ring is plated with a thin layer of gold.”

2. To place the various elements of a meal on the diner's plate prior to serving.

   “After preparation, the chef will plate the dish.”

   “I took her for sushi, she wanted to fuck / So we took it to go, told 'em don't even plate it”

3. To score a run.

   “The single plated the runner from second base.”

4. (transitive)To arm or defend with metal plates.
5. (transitive)To beat into thin plates.
6. To specify which airline a ticket will be issued on behalf of.

   “Tickets are normally plated on an itinerary's first international airline.”

7. to categorise stamps based on their position on the original sheet, in order to reconstruct an entire sheet.
8. To identify the printing plate used.

name

1. The River Plate.

   “[…]; but the tributary waters of the Plate issuing from the eastern and western plateaus, flow towards each other, unite in the heart of the continent, and continue over the central plain to the Atlantic.”

   “To the southwest 235 miles of Uruguay's coast meet the muddy waters of the Plate. The tide plays tricks with the sediment-laden discharge of the great river and drives it back onto the coast, […]”

   “A series of lucky shots from the small fort at Colonia had set fire to the Lord Clive, which was unable to manoeuvre in the shallow waters of the Plate. It did not stop burning till the flames reached the water line.”

   “It would be preferable in view of the shortage of ammunition to blow her up in the shallow waters of the Plate and to have the crew interned.”