What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Tower vs Plate - What's the difference?

tower | plate |

As a noun tower

is control tower (for air traffic).

As a proper noun tower

is tower of london.

As an adjective plate is

(heraldry) (strewn) with plates.

tower

English

(wikipedia tower)

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) torr, from (etyl) turris. Probably influenced by Welsh .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A structure, usually taller than it is wide, often used as a lookout, usually unsupported by guy-wires.
    • From the top of the tower we could see far off into the distance.
  • (figuratively) Any item, such as a computer case, that is usually higher than it is wide.
  • (informal) An interlocking tower.
  • (figurative) A strong refuge; a defence.
  • * Bible, Psalms lxi. 3
    • Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
  • (historical) A tall fashionable headdress.
  • * Hudibras
    • Lay trains of amorous intrigues / In towers , and curls, and periwigs.
  • (obsolete) High flight; elevation.
    • (Johnson)
  • The sixteenth trump or Major Arcana card in many decks, deemed an ill omen.
    • Synonyms
    * donjon
    Derived terms
    * control tower * guardtower * interlocking tower * radio tower * siege tower * tower of Babel * towers of Hanoi * tower of strength * watchtower * water tower

    See also

    * * mast

    Verb

  • To be very tall.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Revenge of the nerds , passage=Think of banking today and the image is of grey-suited men in towering skyscrapers. Its future, however, is being shaped in converted warehouses and funky offices in San Francisco, New York and London, where bright young things in jeans and T-shirts huddle around laptops, sipping lattes or munching on free food.}}
  • To be high or lofty; to soar.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • My lord protector's hawks do tower so well.
  • (obsolete) To soar into.
    • (Milton)

    Derived terms

    * tower over

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who tows.
  • * 1933 , Henry Sturmey, ?H. Walter Staner, The Autocar
    • But as the tower and towee reached the cross-roads again, another car, negligently driven, came round the corner, hit the Morris, and severed the tow rope, sending the unfortunate car back again into the shop window

    Anagrams

    *

    plate

    English

    (wikipedia plate)

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) plate < .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A flat dish from which food is served or eaten.
    • I filled my plate from the bountiful table.
  • (uncountable) Such dishes collectively.
  • The contents of such a dish.
    • I ate a plate of beans.
  • A course at a meal.
    • The meat plate was particularly tasty.
  • (figuratively) An agenda of tasks, problems, or responsibilities
    • With revenues down and transfer payments up, the legislature has a full plate .
  • A flat metallic object of uniform thickness.
    • A clutch usually has two plates .
  • A vehicle license plate.
    • He stole a car and changed the plates as soon as he could.
  • A layer of a material on the surface of something, usually qualified by the type of the material; plating
    • The bullets just bounced off the steel plate on its hull .
  • A material covered with such a layer.
    • If you're not careful, someone will sell you silverware that's really only silver plate .
  • (dated) A decorative or food service item coated with silver.
    • The tea was served in the plate .
  • (weightlifting) A weighted disk, usually of metal, with a hole in the center for use with a barbell, dumbbell, or exercise machine.
  • (printing) An engraved surface used to transfer an image to paper.
    • We finished making the plates this morning.
  • (printing, photography) An image or copy.
  • (printing, publishing) An illustration in a book, either black and white, or colour, usually on a page of paper of different quality from the text pages.
  • (dentistry) A shaped and fitted surface, usually ceramic or metal that fits into the mouth and in which teeth are implanted; a dental plate.
  • (construction) A horizontal framing member at the top or bottom of a group of vertical studs.
  • (Cockney rhyming slang) A foot, from "plates of meat".
    • Sit down and give your plates a rest.
  • (baseball) Home plate.
    • There was a close play at the plate .
  • (geology) A tectonic plate.
  • (historical) Plate armour.
    • He was confronted by two knights in full plate .
  • * Milton
    • mangled through plate and mail
  • (herpetology) Any of various larger scales found in some reptiles.
  • (engineering, electricity) An electrode such as can be found in an accumulator battery, or in an electrolysis tank.
  • (engineering, electricity) The anode of a vacuum tube.
    • Regulating the oscillator plate voltage greatly improves the keying.
  • (obsolete) A coin, usually a silver coin.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Realms and islands were as plates dropp'd from his pocket.
  • (heraldiccharge) A roundel of silver or tinctured argent.
  • A prize given to the winner in a contest.
  • (chemistry) Any flat piece of material like coated glass or plastic.
    • Derived terms
    * * * * * * *

    Verb

    (plat)
  • To cover the surface material of an object with a thin coat of another material, usually a metal.
    • This ring is plated with a thin layer of gold.
  • To place the various elements of a meal on the diner's plate prior to serving.
    • After preparation, the chef will plate the dish.
  • To perform cunnilingus.
    • He fingered her as he plated her with his tongue.
  • (baseball) To score a run.
    • The single plated the runner from second base.
  • (aviation, travel industry) To specify which airline a ticket will be issued on behalf of.
    • Tickets are normally plated on an itinerary's first international airline.
    Derived terms
    * electroplate

    Etymology 2

    (etyl), partly from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • Precious metal, especially silver.
  • * 1864 , Andrew Forrester, The Female Detective :
    • At every meal—and I have heard the meals at Petleighcote were neither abundant nor succulent—enough plate stood upon the table to pay for the feeding of the poor of the whole county for a month
  • *
    • At the northern extremity of this chill province the gold plate of the Groans, pranked across the shining black of the long table, smoulders as though it contains fire

    Anagrams

    * 1000 English basic words ----