vanity plate

noun

: a license plate bearing letters or numbers designated by the owner of the vehicle

called also vanity license plate

Examples of vanity plate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Since Kansas vanity plates have to follow the state vehicle law, a court would need to find that the state law violates the First Amendment. Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2025 Gilliam's lawyers make a plausible argument that there's a drastic difference of opinions among judges about vanity plates and that those plates are different from specialty plates, said G.S. Hans, a First Amendment expert at Cornell Law School. Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 3 Sep. 2025 Tennessee's top court said vanity plates are government speech Tennessee’s top court said the state’s restrictions are consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2025 From the Great Pyramid of Giza to Mount Rushmore, from vanity plates on vintage cars to your mother’s charm bracelet collected on family vacations, each is a testament to the human need to remember, to be remembered, and to announce ourselves to the world. Brett Braley, Robb Report, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for vanity plate

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of vanity plate was in 1966

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vanity plate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vanity%20plate. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!