1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

plates

noun

plural of plate
1
as in scales
a small thin piece of material that resembles an animal scale the tiny silver plates on the brooch are arranged to look like fish scales

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in diagrams
something that visually explains or decorates a text the book's color plate illustrates the internal organs of the human body

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of plates Soldiers steal livestock, cook dinner, eat using their shields as plates, burn down an English house as a woman and child flee. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026 From sunset on—when the night comes alive amidst dazzling skyline lights—the space is complete with a seafood-forward small plates menu showing French, Spanish, and Portuguese influences, complemented by a list of natural wines and craft cocktails. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026 About 50 people filtered into the Perez Architecture Center for the event, many holding plates of danishes and boxes of Royal Dansk Danish butter cookies laid on tables by the entrance. — Zoey Thomas, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026 The restaurant also offers dinner-style plates such as pork chops, chicken Parmesan, spaghetti and steaks. — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026 From plates and knives not being clean to flies stuck on traps, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City-area restaurants last week. — Joseph Hernandez august 31, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2026 Protein seems to be on everyone’s minds (and plates) these days, with many of us getting our fill from fish, beef, chicken, or plant proteins like beans, avocados, tofu, and tempeh. — Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 30 Aug. 2026 Direct-to-chip cooling solves this problem by circulating liquid through cold plates mounted on processors and other heat-producing components. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026 Each figure — including Rumi and Demon Jinu in the 2-Pack — come with two alternated face plates that can be interchanged with the main face of the figure. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plates
  1. scales
  2. diagrams
  3. sheets
  4. graphics
  5. figures
  6. illustrations
Noun
  • Between a school of banggai cardinalfish, a single juvenile emperor angelfish cut through, its deep blue scales segmented by white, vein-looking striations.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The milestone marks a significant step in humanity’s effort to understand how galaxies form, evolve and interact on the largest scales.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of scales
Noun
  • The results — displayed in rows of blurry squiggles on the radar diagrams — showed more than 100 distinct graves beneath the small-dog park, with more likely located underneath the road, where GPR could not reach.
    — Oliver Wu, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a hodgepodge of financial advice and confusing diagrams held together by anecdotes from Kiyosaki’s childhood.
    — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of diagrams
Noun
  • The images, taken by the Biebers on a Contax point-and-shoot camera, feature the couple mid-makeout, a shirtless Justin Bieber sleeping under the sheets and a close-up of the two canoodling in bed.
    — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Washcloths, hand towels, bath towels and bath sheets plus hair towels for hands free ease.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of sheets
Noun
  • Shot in Los Angeles, the music video features a customized Honda Civic Hybrid with Black Eyed Peas graphics, a car that was later presented as a prize during the 2006 Honda Civic Tour.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 11 Sep. 2026
  • To Michael Ouweleen, who currently serves as president of Cartoon Network, the biggest early opportunities for creative expression came in the form of graphics that aired between shows.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of graphics
Noun
  • In dressage competitions, horses follow a short sequence of bouncing walks and trots, pirouettes and figures-of-eight.
    — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • And the number moved enough that the Census Bureau took the unusual step of declaring the old and new figures incomparable, creating a new time series from December 4, 2025, and filing the earlier data under historical.
    — Ajay Pundhir, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of figures
Noun
  • The campaign brings together a cast of artists and friends including Drake Carr, who created the art and illustrations; Marcs Bird, who did the set design, and Dara Allen, who handled the styling.
    — David Moin, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The 300,000-square-foot Lucas Museum of Narrative Art contains 100,000 square feet of gallery space with 35 galleries organized according to theme, including adventure, motherhood, community, children’s illustrations, manga and comics.
    — Brittany Levine Beckman, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of illustrations

Browse Nearby Words

platefuls
plates
platform
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Plates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plates. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of facsimile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All