paper plate
10
1.0
- noun
- /ˈpeɪpər pleɪt/
:
plato de papel
- "Let's eat," she said, taking the top paper plate off the stack.
Chocolate cake on the paper plate that I also ate.
- Chocolate cake on the paper plate that I also ate.
- I actually still have the lyrics that we wrote because I wrote them on a paper plate, a white paper plate that was like in Eric's bonus room.
Examples
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For the picnic, we decided to use a paper plate for each guest to make cleanup easier.
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We'll just do paper plates tonight.
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Next time, I'll remember to buy a paper plate.
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I need you to go grab some paper plates at the dollar store.
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I forgot to buy new paper plates and cups.
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"I'm sorry," my mother will say, "that we have to eat off paper plates."
Fiction book (1991) -
All this time we've been using paper plates.
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John sat down, carefully placing his paper plate in his lap and his coffee on the windowsill.
Fiction book (1992) -
Our old friend Sapphire takes the seat next to him, holding a skimpy paper plate of vegetables.
Fiction book (2000) -
Denise Gunderson, done with her cheeseburger, folded the paper plate in half and dropped it into the waste container.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
304
1.0
A flat round dish from which people eat
How Sturdy
10
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a plate made of paper' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'paper' (material) with 'plate' (dish), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning. This is a straightforward compound noun following common compounding patterns found across languages, making it immediately comprehensible and predictable.
Etymology
The term paper plate is a simple, literal name: a thin paper version of a plate made for picnics and parties so people did not have to wash dishes. Because these plates were cheap and could be 'thrown away' after a meal, the term now means a 'disposable plate'.