plate

/ˈpleɪ̯t/

//ˈpleɪ̯t// noun

"plate" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plate” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,751. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,751
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.

Corpus desk

Index EN-plate · plate · English

plate · rank #2,751 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,751
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH personality

Nearest frequency peer: personality (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “plate”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “plate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plate vs play
60% similar
plate vs plot
60% similar
plate vs prat
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for plate
PropertyValue
Headwordplate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpleɪ̯t/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,751
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “plate” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). plate lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around plate (IPA /ˈpleɪ̯t/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,751 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 37 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for plate, with forms such as "lpate", "palte", and "plaet". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "play", "plot", "prat", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato. (foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet". The correct English form is plate, spelled P-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.
  2. 2
    Such dishes collectively.
  3. 3
    The contents of such a dish.
  4. 4
    A course at a meal.
  5. 5
    An agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilities
  6. 6
    A flat object of uniform thickness.
  7. 7
    Vehicle license plates, registration plates.
  8. 8
    A taxi permit, especially of a metal disc.
  9. 9
    Plate armor.
  10. 10
    A layer of a material on the surface of something, usually qualified by the type of the material; plating
  11. 11
    A material covered with such a layer.
  12. 12
    An ornamental or food service item coated with silver or gold or otherwise decorated.
  13. 13
    A weighted disk, usually of metal, with a hole in the center for use with a barbell, dumbbell, or exercise machine.
  14. 14
    An engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper.
  15. 15
    An image or copy.
  16. 16
    An illustration in a book, either black and white, or colour, usually on a page of paper of different quality from the text pages.
  17. 17
    A shaped and fitted surface, usually ceramic or metal that fits into the mouth and in which teeth are implanted; a dental plate.
  18. 18
    A horizontal framing member at the top or bottom of a group of vertical studs.
  19. 19
    A person's foot.
  20. 20
    Home plate.
  21. 21
    A tectonic plate.
  22. 22
    Any of various larger scales found in some reptiles.
  23. 23
    A flat electrode such as can be found in an accumulator battery, or in an electrolysis tank.
  24. 24
    The anode of a vacuum tube.
  25. 25
    A prize given to the winner in a contest.
  26. 26
    Any flat piece of material such as coated glass or plastic.
  27. 27
    A metallic card, used to imprint tickets with an airline's logo, name, and numeric code.
  28. 28
    The ability of a travel agent to issue tickets on behalf of a particular airline.
  29. 29
    A VIN plate, particularly with regard to the car's year of manufacture.
  30. 30
    One of the thin parts of the brisket of an animal.
  31. 31
    A very light steel horseshoe for racehorses.
  32. 32
    Skins for fur linings of garments, sewn together and roughly shaped, but not finally cut or fitted.
  33. 33
    The fine nap (as of beaver, musquash, etc.) on a hat whose body is made from inferior material.
  34. 34
    A record, usually vinyl.
  35. 35
    trauma plate.
  36. 36
    Any of the potential romantic or sexual partners with whom a person keeps in touch as part of plate spinning.
  37. 37
    A Lego piece that is thin, 1/3 the height of a brick, and has studs on top.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how plate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I filled my plate from the bountiful table.
  2. A valuable collection of silver plate was donated to the museum.

Etymology

From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato. (foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "feet".

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpate
  • palte
  • plaet
  • pllate
  • pltae
  • pplate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lpate2palte2plaet2pllate1pltae2pplate1
Edit distance from "plate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "plate"?
"plate" is spelled P-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpleɪ̯t/.
What does "plate" mean?
As a noun, "plate" means: A slightly curved but almost flat dish from which food is served or eaten.
What words are commonly confused with "plate"?
"plate" is commonly confused with "play", "plot", "prat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plate" is /ˈpleɪ̯t/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "plate"?
From Middle English plate, from Old French plate, from Medieval Latin plata, from Vulgar Latin *plat(t)us, from Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat, wide”). Compare Spanish plato. (foot): Cockney rhyming slang, from "plates of meat" for "fe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "plate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "plate". Here's where to go from here.

  • "plate" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "play". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,751 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list