# plate

/ˈpɫeɪt/ (US) · /plˈeɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/plate
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. dish for food

noun · CEFR A1

a flat, round dish that you use for eating or serving food.

For teachers: a shallow, usually circular vessel from which food is eaten or served.

- He put a large slice of cake on a small blue plate.
- The waiter cleared the empty plates from the table before offering the guests a look at the dessert menu.

### 2. amount of food

noun · CEFR A2

the amount of food that is served on one plate.

For teachers: the quantity of food contained on a plate; often used metonymically for a portion or a course.

- She ate a whole plate of pasta and still felt hungry.
- The restaurant serves a generous plate of seafood that is easily enough for two people to share.

### 3. responsibilities

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

you use this to talk about how much work or how many problems you are dealing with.

For teachers: a metaphorical reference to one's current workload or agenda of responsibilities.

- I'd love to help you with the project, but I have a lot on my plate right now.
- With the merger approaching and three senior staff members on leave, the manager has far too much on her plate to consider new initiatives.

### 4. metal sheet

noun · CEFR B1

a flat, thin piece of metal or other hard material.

For teachers: a flat, structural or protective sheet of uniform thickness, typically made of metal.

- The workers fixed a steel plate over the hole in the road.
- The hull of the ship was reinforced with heavy armored plates to withstand the pressure of deep-sea exploration.

### 5. geology

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

one of the huge moving pieces of rock that make up the Earth's surface.

For teachers: a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.

- Earthquakes happen when two plates under the ground move against each other.
- The movement of tectonic plates is responsible for the formation of mountain ranges and the occurrence of volcanic activity along fault lines.

### 6. vehicle ID

noun · CEFR B1

the sign on the front and back of a car that shows its official number.

For teachers: a sign attached to a vehicle displaying its registration identifier.

- The witness couldn't remember the car's plate number after the accident.
- The police officer ran the plate through the national database to check if the vehicle had been reported stolen.

### 7. book illustration

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a full-page picture in a book, often printed on better paper than the text.

For teachers: a full-page illustration in a printed book, traditionally produced by a separate printing process.

- The biology textbook has several colored plates showing different types of flowers.
- The rare first edition is highly valued by collectors because all twenty hand-colored plates remain in pristine condition.

### 8. to coat with metal

verb · CEFR B2

to cover a metal object with a very thin layer of another metal, like gold or silver.

For teachers: to deposit a thin layer of metal on a surface, typically through electrolysis or chemical means.

- The cheap jewelry was plated with silver to make it look expensive.
- Industrial components are often plated with chrome to provide a decorative finish and increase resistance to corrosion.

### 9. to arrange food

verb · CEFR B2

to put food onto a plate in an attractive way before serving it.

For teachers: to arrange and present food on a plate for service in a professional culinary context.

- The chef carefully plated the steak with a garnish of fresh herbs.
- In fine dining, the speed at which a chef can plate a complex dish is just as important as the flavor profile itself.

## Examples

- Please put your sandwich on a plate.
- She washed the dirty plates after the dinner party was over.
- The chef arranged the meal on a large white plate, turning simple food into a work of art.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.