plate

plate1 [ pleıt ] noun ***

▸ 1 flat round dish

▸ 2 metal/bone/etc. cover

▸ 3 for showing information

▸ 4 thin silver/gold layer

▸ 5 (for printing) in book

▸ 6 for teeth

▸ 7 part of Earth's surface

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) count a flat round dish that you put food on:

Rinse the plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

paper plates

a ) plate or plateful the amount of food a plate will hold:

plate of: a plate of French fries

b ) AMERICAN a complete meal or main part of a meal served on one plate:

This place has a good vegetarian plate.

c ) a flat round dish used for collecting money, especially in a church:

There will be a plate at the back for any donations.

2. ) count a piece of metal or a hard substance used for covering or protecting something

a ) a piece of metal put into a part of someone's body to protect it:

Surgeons covered the wound in his skull with a metal plate.

b ) a piece of metal used for covering something, or for joining two parts of something together:

Workers put a steel plate over the hole in the roadway.

They welded a large plate to the side of the damaged ship.

c ) one of the flat pieces of bone, horn, etc. that protect the body of some animals

3. ) count a small piece of metal or plastic that is fixed to something and used for showing information such as someone's name or a number:

You can find the serial number on a plate inside the door of the refrigerator.

=> LICENSE PLATE

4. ) uncount a thin layer of silver or gold that covers a less valuable metal to improve its appearance

a ) forks, spoons, plates, etc. that are covered by a layer of silver or gold

5. ) count a piece of metal used for printing the words and pictures in books

a ) a picture printed on special paper in a book:

The book contains 35 color plates.

b ) a piece of glass covered in chemicals that react with light, used especially in the past for producing images that could then be printed as photographs

6. ) count a piece of plastic or metal with false teeth fixed to it that is made to fit inside your mouth

a ) a piece of plastic with wires fixed to it that you wear in their mouth to make your teeth straight

7. ) count TECHNICAL one of the layers of rock that form the surface of the Earth

hand something to someone on a plate INFORMAL

to make it easy for someone to have or achieve something that they would normally have to work hard to get:

The game was handed to them on a plate.

have a lot/enough/too much on your plate

to have a lot of/enough/too many things to worry about or deal with:

With three kids and a full-time job, she's got enough on her plate already.

plate

plate 2 [ pleıt ] verb transitive

1. ) to cover a metal object with a thin layer of gold or silver

2. ) to protect something with a piece of metal

a ) if hard layers of bone, horn, etc. plate an animal's body, they cover and protect it