n. | 1. | A flat, or nearly flat, piece of metal, the thickness of which is small in comparison with the other dimensions; a thick sheet of metal; as, a steel plate. |
| 2. | Metallic armor composed of broad pieces. |
| 3. | Domestic vessels and utensils, as flagons, dishes, cups, etc., wrought in gold or silver. |
| 4. | Metallic ware which is plated, in distinction from that which is silver or gold throughout. |
| 5. | A small, shallow, and usually circular, vessel of metal or wood, or of earth glazed and baked, from which food is eaten at table. |
| 6. | A piece of money, usually silver money. |
| 7. | A piece of metal on which anything is engraved for the purpose of being printed; hence, an impression from the engraved metal; as, a book illustrated with plates; a fashion plate. |
| 8. | A page of stereotype, electrotype, or the like, for printing from; as, publisher's plates. |
| 9. | That part of an artificial set of teeth which fits to the mouth, and holds the teeth in place. It may be of gold, platinum, silver, rubber, celluloid, etc. |
| 10. | (Arch.) A horizontal timber laid upon a wall, or upon corbels projecting from a wall, and supporting the ends of other timbers; also used specifically of the roof plate which supports the ends of the roof trusses or, in simple work, the feet of the rafters. |
| 11. | (Her.) A roundel of silver or tinctured argent. |
| 12. | (Photog.) A sheet of glass, porcelain, metal, etc., with a coating that is sensitive to light. |
| 13. | A prize giving to the winner in a contest. |
| 14. | (Baseball) A small five-sided area (enveloping a diamond-shaped area one foot square) beside which the batter stands and which must be touched by some part of a player on completing a run; - called also home base, or home plate. |
| 15. | One of the thin parts of the bricket of an animal. |
| 16. | A very light steel racing horsehoe. |
| 17. | Loosely, a sporting contest for a prize; specif., in horse racing, a race for a prize, the contestants not making a stake. |
| 18. | Skins for fur linings of garments, sewed together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted. |
| 19. | (Hat Making) The fine nap (as of beaver, hare's wool, musquash, nutria, or English black wool) on a hat the body of which is of an inferior substance. |
| 20. | a quantity sufficient to fill a plate; a plateful; a dish containing that quantity; a plate of spaghetti. |
| 21. | the food and service supplied to a customer at a restaurant; as, the turkey dinner is $9 a plate; I'll have a plate of spaghetti. |
| 22. | a flat dish of glass or plastic with a fitted cover, used for culturing microorganisms in a laboratory. |
| 23. | the identification tag required to be displayed on the outside of a vehicle; same as license plate; - often used in the plural. |
| 24. | an agenda or schedule of tasks to be performed; I have a lot on my plate today. |
v. t. | 1. | To cover or overlay with gold, silver, or other metals, either by a mechanical process, as hammering, or by a chemical process, as electrotyping. |
| 2. | To cover or overlay with plates of metal; to arm with metal for defense. |
| 3. | To adorn with plated metal; as, a plated harness. |
| 4. | To beat into thin, flat pieces, or laminæ. |
| 5. | To calender; as, to plate paper. |