plate
part of speech
noun (plate, plates); verb (plate — cover with a thin metal layer)
meaning for a pupil
1) A plate is a flat dish you put food on. tree →
2) A plate is a flat thin piece of metal, glass or other hard material: a number plate on a car. tree →
3) In science, the Earth's surface is made of huge plates that move slowly. tree →
4) In baseball, home plate is where the batter stands. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: a container: so many items on each plate; plates counted; plates needed = items ÷ per plate. In everyday life: setting the table, «clean your plate». In science: tectonic plates and earthquakes. In stories: «too much on my plate» means too much to do.
examples
- Each plate has 4 cookies. tree →
- She set 8 plates on the table. tree →
- There are 3 plates of 6 sandwiches. tree →
- How many plates are needed for 24 cookies? tree →
- Please carry your plate to the sink. tree →
- Earthquakes happen where the Earth's plates move. tree →
- The car's number plate was covered in mud. tree →
- He ran to home plate. tree →
- I have a lot on my plate this week. tree →
- All the plates clattered for joy. tree →
note
«On each plate» is a rate: total = per plate × plates. Plates needed = items ÷ per plate. Trap: count the food, not the plates, unless asked. Number plate (UK) = license plate (USA). Plates are part of tableware; bowls hold soup.
In the corpora
- Vivid example: in Melbourne, cousin Jess moves into her first rented flat with a bag of old plates from Gran.
- A learner driver has L plates and a grown-up beside them; check before you accuse anyone of breaking the law.
- Ankylosaurus was covered with bony plates in its skin and had a heavy club on its tail that could break a predator's leg.
- The slice of toast on your plate started as a grass.
- A dinner plate is a plant puzzle.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «plate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.