flatware

[ flat-wair ]

noun

1. utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food.
2. dishes or containers for the table that are more or less flat, as plates and saucers ( hollowware ).

flatware

/ ˈflætˌwɛə /

noun

1. cutlery
2. See hollowware
   any relatively flat tableware such as plates, saucers, etc Compare hollowware

Word History and Origins

Origin of flatware¹

First recorded in 1850–55; flat ¹ + ware ¹

Example Sentences

In Dallas, they can’t put their hands on flatware, plates and napkins.

From Washington Post

The dishes and flatware store perfectly in the Hydro Flask Outdoor Tote and can handle the wear and tear of traveling into the countryside while looking as elegant as anything you have at home.

From Outside Online

The launch includes plates, and lidded bowls as well as flatware and serveware—all that is easy to clean, insulated, and tough enough for any adventure.

From The Daily Beast

Ram now knows our order, that we will pick it up late and that we don’t want flatware or napkins.

From Time

China, porcelain and flatware will often have a stamp on their backs or bottoms.

From Washington Post

Melanie walked past the table that had been set for two with fancy china and flatware and out to the Truman Balcony.

From The Daily Beast

Little of this, understandably, was likely to have been thrown away or lost, except for an occasional piece of flatware.

From Project Gutenberg

He frequently decorated his flatware with a refined etching or gravure, his hollow ware with reeding.

From Project Gutenberg

His flatware is usually distinguished by a shell motif, and gadroon edges finish and decorate many of his pieces.

From Project Gutenberg

She loved the flatware—it always made her think of a wedding—sometimes of her own.

From Project Gutenberg

She reveled in the white tiles, the white gloss paint, the eternal clearing-up and the clatter of flatware.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cutlery
• tableware