plate

A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.countableuncountable

• I filled my plate from the bountiful table.

Such dishes collectively.uncountable

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

The contents of such a dish.countableuncountable

• I ate a plate of beans.

A course at a meal.countableuncountable

• The meat plate was particularly tasty.

An agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilitiescountablefigurativelyuncountable

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

A flat object of uniform thickness.countableuncountable

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

Vehicle license plates, registration plates.Australiacountableespecially

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

A taxi permit, especially of a metal disc.countableuncountable

Plate armor.countablehistoricaluncountable

• He was confronted by two knights in full plate.

A layer of a material on the surface of something, usually qualified by the type of the material; platingcountableuncountable

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

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

• This ring is plated with a thin layer of gold.

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

• After preparation, the chef will plate the dish.

To score a run.transitive

• The single plated the runner from second base.

To arm or defend with metal plates.transitive

To beat into thin plates.transitive

To specify which airline a ticket will be issued on behalf of.

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

To categorize stamps based on their position on the original sheet, in order to reconstruct an entire sheet.transitive

To identify the printing plate used, particularly with early British stamps.transitive

Precious metal, especially silver.uncountableusually

• 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[…]

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

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

A roundel of silver or argent.