planter
1058
rubber plantation 2 (in the Southern US) such a large piece
of land, growing cotton or other crops, especially before the
CIVIL WAR when plantation-owners could own many black
SLAVES to do the work. Plantations are remembered for their
large, expensive, white COLUMNS houses, the wealth of
their owners, and because they exploited (EXPLOIT) slaves. →
see colour photo on page A41 3 a large group of trees
planted especially to produce wood: a plantation of fir trees
plant·er /'plɑːntər || 'plæn-/ n 1 (often in comb.) a person who
owns or is in charge of a plantation: a tea planter 2 (usually in
comb.) a machine for planting: a potato planter 3 a container
in which plants are grown for decorative purposes
'plant hire BrE || equipment rental AmE — n [U] the
borrowing for money of heavy equipment such as diggers.
Builders often borrow equipment rather than buy it.
'plant pot BrE || flower pot AmE — n a usually plastic pot in
which a plant or plants are grown, in the house or for
replanting in the garden
plaque /plɑːk, plæk || plæk/ n 1 [C] a flat decorative metal or
stone plate that is fixed to a wall especially one that has
writing on it describing a famous person who once lived at
that place, an event that happened near there etc 2 [U] med
a substance that forms on teeth, and in which bacteria can
live and breed → compare TARTAR
plas·ma /'plæzmə/ n [U] 1 also blood plasma — the yellow-
ish liquid which contains the blood cells; liquid part of
blood 2 a gaslike substance that is found inside stars, in
flashes of electricity etc
'plasma screen n a type of television or computer screen
that is much thinner than other types of screens
plas·ter1 /'plɑːstər || 'plæs-/ n 1 [U] a mixture of LIME water,
sand etc, which hardens when dry and is used, especially on
walls, to give a smooth surface 2 [C;U] BrE || Bandaid
trademark AmE — (a thin band of) material that can be stuck to
the skin to protect small wounds 3 in plaster in a PLASTER
CAST: with his leg in plaster
plaster2 v [T] 1 to put wet plaster on; cover with plaster: to
plaster the walls in a new house | (fig.) The government thinks
the cracks in its policies can be plastered over (=that their
faults can be hidden) with fine-sounding promises. 2 to
spread (something), perhaps too thickly, on (a surface);
cover: [+obj+with] They plastered the wall with posters. |
[+obj+on, over] They plastered posters on the wall/all over the
wall. | a child completely plastered with mud 3 [+obj+adv/prep]
to cause to lie flat or stick to another surface with a sticky
substance: He'd plastered his hair down with grease.
plas·ter·board /'plɑːstəbɔːd || 'plæstərbɔːrd/ n [U] board
made of large sheets of cardboard held together with plaster,
used instead of plaster to cover walls and CEILINGS
'plaster cast n 1 a copy, especially of a STATUE, made from
plaster of Paris 2 a case made from plaster of Paris, placed
round a part of the body to protect or support a broken
bone
plas·tered /'plɑːstəd || 'plæstərd/ adj [F] slang drunk
plas·ter·er /'plɑːstərər || 'plæs-/ n a person whose job is to
PLASTER walls, CEILINGS etc
,plaster of 'Paris n [U] a quick-drying mixture of a white
powder and water used for making plaster casts and to
decorate buildings
plas·tic1 /'plæstɪk/ n 1 [C;U] a light artificial material pro-
duced chemically, which can be made into different shapes
when soft, keeps its shape when hard, and is commonly
used for making various objects: a plastic spoon | These
spoons are plastic/are made of plastic. | He packed his sand-
wiches in a plastic bag. 2 [U] see PLASTIC MONEY
plastic2 adj 1 tech (of a substance) easily formed into various
shapes by pressing, and able to keep the new shape: Clay and
wax are plastic substances. 2 infml derog artificial; SYNTHETIC:
plastic food (=food containing artificial substances)
,plastic 'art n [C usually pl.;U] tech (an) art concerned with
representing things in a form that can be seen, especially
painting, SCULPTURE, or making films
,plastic 'bullet n a large bullet made of hard plastic that is
meant to hurt but not kill people and is used for controlling
violent crowds
,plastic 'card n a CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD, CHARGE CARD etc
,plastic ex'plosive n [C;U] (a small bomb made from) an
explosive substance that can be shaped by hand
Plas·ti·cine /'plæstɪsiːn/ BrE trademark || play dough AmE —
n [U] a soft claylike substance made in many different
colours, used by young children for making small models,
shapes etc
plas·tic·i·ty /plæ'stɪrəti/ n [U] tech the quality of being
PLASTIC
,plastic 'mac n BrE a usually cheap RAINCOAT made from
plastic
,plastic 'money also plastic n [U] infml small plastic cards
used instead of money for making payments; CREDIT CARDS:
Does the restaurant take plastic money? | Can I put it on the
plastic? (=can I use a credit/DEBIT/CHARGE card to pay for it)
plas·tics /'plæstɪks/ n [U] the producing of plastic: the
plastics industry
,plastic 'surgery n [U] the repairing or improving of
damaged, diseased, or unsatisfactorily shaped parts of the
body with pieces of skin or bone taken from other parts of
the body. In Britain and the US plastic surgery must be paid
for if it is not considered necessary for medical reasons: She
had plastic surgery on her face after the car accident. →
compare COSMETIC SURGERY — plastic surgeon n
,plastic 'wrap also saran wrap trademark —, AmE a type of
CLINGFILM
plat du jour /ˌplɑː du ˈʒʊər/ n pl. plats du jour (same
pronunciation) Fr the special dish to which the owner of a
restaurant draws people's attention on a particular day
plate1 /pleɪt/ n 1 [C] a) also dish AmE — a flat usually round
dish with a slightly raised edge, from which food is eaten or
served: The plates were piled high with rice. | a dinner
plate b) also plate-ful /-fʊl/ — the amount of food that this
will hold: a plate of meat and potatoes 2 [C] (often in comb.) a
flat, thin, usually large piece of something hard: The reptile's
body is covered with protective horny plates. | The surgeon
inserted a metal plate into the damaged skull. | The Earth's
crust is made up of vast interlocking sheets of rock, known as
plates. → see also ARMOUR PLATE, FOOTPLATE 3 [U] articles
made of valuable metal: All the church plate has been locked
up. 4 [C] (often in comb.) a small sheet of metal with letters,
information etc on it: the numberplate on a car → see also
L-PLATE, NAMEPLATE 5 [U] (often in comb.) ordinary metal with
a thin covering of gold or silver; it looks like gold or silver
but is less valuable: gold plate 6 [C] tech a picture in a book,
printed on different paper from the written part and often
coloured: a book with ten full-colour plates 7 [C] a sheet of
metal treated so that words or a picture can be printed from
its surface 8 [C usually sing.] also dental plate — a thin piece
of plastic shaped to fit inside a person's mouth, into which
false teeth are fixed 9 [C] a thin sheet of glass used espe-
cially formerly in photography, having on one surface
chemicals that are sensitive to light 10 [the S] a metal dish
or small bag used to collect money in church: The plate was
passed around. 11 HOME PLATE 12 on a plate infml with too
little effort: They just handed the game to the other team on a
plate. (=allowed them to win it too easily) 13 on one's plate
infml to deal with (and giving one a lot of problems): I can't
possibly take a holiday at the moment; I've got far too much on
my plate.
plate2 v [T(with)] to cover (a metal article) thinly with another
metal, especially gold, silver, or tin: The ring wasn't solid
gold – it was only plated (with gold)/gold-plated.
plat·eau1 /'plætəʊ || plæ'toʊ/ n pl. -teaus or -teaux /-təʊ/ 1 a
large stretch of level land that is higher than the land
around it on at least one side 2 a steady unchanging level,
period, or condition: House prices seem to have reached a
plateau, but they may start rising again soon.
plateau2 v [I] if something plateaus, it reaches and then
stays at a particular level
,plate 'glass n [U] fine clear glass made in large, quite thick
sheets for use especially in shop windows —'plate-glass adj
[A]
plate-lay-er /'pleɪtˌleɪər/ BrE || tracklayer AmE — n a
workman who builds or repairs railway tracks