Meanings
- colloquialidiomaticWithin easy reach; easily achieved.
United looked listless, but found the inspiration they were badly lacking in Rashford. First the 21-year-old collected a long ball, bounced through a half-hearted challenge from Maya Yoshida and laid a chance on a plate for Lukaku.
2018 December 1, Tom Rostance, “Southampton 2 - 2 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport1 more example
The row started over who will run for parliament in a wealthy rightwing constituency on the left bank in Paris, a safe seat for Sarkozy's ruling UMP. Dati is already a local mayor in the neighbourhood, a job felt to have been handed to her on a plate when she was a Sarkozy favourite. She has since fallen from grace, and when she left government she took a European parliament seat, considered a consolation prize.
2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in GuardianSynonyms: on a platter, on a silver platter
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseWithin easy reach; easily achieved.
Translations
Finnish hopealautasella, lautasella
- hopealautasella(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
- lautasella(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
French sur un plateau d'argent, sur un plateau
- sur un plateau d'argent(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
- sur un plateau(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
German auf dem Silbertablett, auf dem silbernen Tablett
- auf dem Silbertablett(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
- auf dem silbernen Tablett(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
Polish na tacy
- na tacy(idiomatic) within easy reach, easily achieved
Cite this entry
on a plate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20plate
“on a plate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20plate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on a plate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20a%20plate.
Source: on a plate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.