plat

1 of 5

verb (1)

ˈplat 

platted; platting

transitive verb

: plait

plat

2 of 5

noun (1)

: plait

plat

3 of 5

noun (2)

1

: a small piece of ground (such as a lot or quadrat) : plot

2

: a plan, map, or chart of a piece of land with actual or proposed features (such as lots)

also : the land represented

plat

4 of 5

verb (2)

platted; platting

transitive verb

: to make a plat of

plat

5 of 5

abbreviation

1

plateau

2

platoon

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• braid
• lace

Noun (2)

• tract
• field
• ground
• parcel
• clearing
• plot

Examples of plat in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a plat of lace

Noun (2)

each settler was granted a plat to farm

plans to build a shopping center on the last undeveloped plat in town

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Portage Plan Commission drew the line on adding a 154th lot to the Sandy Trails subdivision, rejecting the developer’s argument that the lot was omitted from the final plat previously approved after an engineer forgot to draw a line to include the lot. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025

Pulte has already won approval for the preliminary plats for phases 1-4, which total 988 detached homes and townhomes, plus the lakefront amenity center. —Laura Kinsler, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025

Verb

Originally called Browns Subdivision, the area was a farming development platted by W.L. Brown during the 1920s. —Miami Herald, 28 July 2025

The area has an additional 100,000 single-family homes platted, according to the county. —Sasha Hupka, AZCentral.com, 3 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English platten, probably variant of pleiten "to fold, pleat entry 1," by generalization of the past tense and past participle forms platte, plattid, formed by analogy with thratte, past of threten "to make a threat, threaten"

Note: This etymology is suggested by Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, following E. J. Dobson, English Pronunciation, 1500-1700, vol. 2, p. 782. Middle English Dictionary lists platten as a separate verb, taken to be a verbal derivative of plat "flat, smooth," with "meaning influenced by pleiten."

Noun (1)

noun derivative of plat entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English, probably alteration of plot

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1589, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing plat

• plat du jour

Kids Definition

plat

noun

ˈplat

1

: a small plot of ground

2

: a plan or map of an area with lots marked out

Legal Definition

plat

noun

ˈplat

: a plan, map, or chart of a piece of land with present or proposed features (as lots)

also : the land represented

Etymology

Noun

probably alteration of plot