plate

verb

plated; plating

transitive verb

1

: to cover or equip with plate: such as

a

: to provide with armor plate

b

: to cover with an adherent layer mechanically, chemically, or electrically

also : to deposit (something, such as a layer) on a surface

2

: to make a printing surface from or for

3

: to fix or secure with a plate

4

: to cause (a runner) to score in baseball

5

: to arrange (food) on a plate or dish

Examples of plate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lewis’ seventh round tripper came in his first at-bat, with a two-run shot to left center field to also plate shortstop Kaelen Culpepper to post the visitors to a 2-0 lead in the top of the opening inning. —Staff Report, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026

Irvine’s offense signaled its intentions by plating three runs in the first. —Dan Albano, Oc Register, 29 May 2026

Marcelo Mayer plated a run with a single in the seventh before Duran capped the night with his eighth home run of the year — a 400-foot shot to right field. —CBS News, 28 May 2026

However, Aaron Judge fired a pinpointed rocket to plate, where Austin Wells applied a bang-bang tag on a sliding Massey just in time. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing plate

• agar plate
• at the plate
• bite plate
• blue plate
• cell plate
• clean one's plate
• end plate
• equatorial plate
• fashion plate
• home plate
• hot plate
• license plate
• metaphase plate
• neural plate
• number plate
• on a plate
• on one's plate
• plate glass
• plate rail
• plate tectonics
• sieve plate
• silver plate
• step up to the plate
• tin-plate
• vanity plate
• wall plate

Rhymes for plate

• ate
• bait
• bate
• cate
• crate
• date
• eight
• fait
• fate
• fete
• frate
• freight

Kids Definition

plate

1 of 2 noun

ˈplāt 

1

a

: a flat thin piece of material

b

: metal in sheets

steel plate

c

: a thin layer of one metal deposited on another

2

a

: one of the broad metal pieces used in armor

b

: armor made of plates

3

: a usually flat bony or horny bodily part forming part of a covering of an animal (as some fishes or reptiles)

4

: home plate

5

: any of the huge movable segments into which the earth's lithosphere is divided and which are held to float on and travel over the mantle

6

a

: precious metal

especially : silver bullion

b

: vessels (as bowls or cups) used in the home and made of or plated with precious metal (as silver)

7

a

: a shallow usually circular dish from which food is eaten or served

b

: a main food course served on a plate

a plate of spaghetti

c

: food and service for one person

a dinner at $10 a plate

d

: a dish or pouch used in taking a collection (as in a church)

8

a

: a prepared surface from which printing is done

b

: a sheet of material (as plastic or glass) coated with a chemical sensitive to light for use in a camera

9

: license plate

10

: the part of a denture that holds the false teeth and fits to the mouth

also : a set of false teeth

11

: a full-page illustration

an art book with color plates

platelike

-ˌlīk 

adjective

plate

2 of 2 verb

plated; plating

: to cover or equip with plate

plate the teapot with silver

Medical Definition

plate

1 of 2 noun

ˈplāt 

1

: a thin relatively flat piece or lamina (as of bone) that is part of the body

2

: a flat glass or plastic dish used chiefly for culturing cells and microorganisms

especially : petri dish see also agar plate

3

: a supporting or reinforcing element: as

a

: the part of a denture that fits in the mouth

broadly : denture

b

: a thin flat narrow piece of metal (as stainless steel) that is used to repair a bone defect or fracture

plate

2 of 2 transitive verb

plated; plating

1

: to inoculate and culture (microorganisms or cells) on a plate

also : to distribute (an inoculum) on a plate or plates for cultivation

2

: to repair (as a fractured bone) with metal plates